Second Biggest Emperor Penguin Colony In Antarctica Has Disappeared

May 06, 2019 by apost team

Antarctica is home to many different penguins. Unfortunately, that may not be the case much longer. These colonies are threatened by steadily-decreasing habitats. With nowhere to live, the lifespans of individuals, and entire colonies, is finite.

Scientists have been hard at work studying these penguins. The British Antarctic Survey, a group keeping tabs on emperor penguins, recently reported devastating news. A large group of emperor penguins - once the second largest on the content- has been wiped out.

How did this tragedy occur? The Independent reports the increasing global temperatures have weakened the sea-ice. The most devastating changes to the landscape happened in 2016. Severe weather obliterated the shelf the penguins usually nest on. Thousands of baby penguins were knocked into the sea, and drowned.

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This traumatic hit effectively destroyed the colony. With the next generation gone and the usual nesting site in ruins, the adult members of the colony stopped breeding and left. Unfortunately, the shelf hasn't been rebuilt in the time that's followed; or, when it does, BAS explains,

"Storm events that occur in October and November will now blow it out early." If the penguins were to nest here, they would likely only have a repeat of 2016's tragedy.

We cannot change the world alone. We can make small changes to improve our own lives - but fixing things on a global scale requires cooperation and regulation from entities larger than ourselves. By actively participating in government affairs and community events, we can fight to protect this world and prevent future harm to other emperor penguins.

What was once prime breeding territory for nearly twenty-four thousand emperor penguins, now sits abandoned. Saddest of all, there's very little that can be done to fix this. The penguins are not the source of the problem. What members survived the collapse went on to breed and mingle with other colonies.

The problem is the ice - ice that cannot form adequately in steadily-increasing global temperatures.

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What do you do to reduce your impact on the climate? Let us know in the comments!