- Jan - March 2004
- April - June 2004
- July - Sept 2004
- Oct - Dec 2004
Penguin news from January - March 2004
Look out: These are older news flashes, so it's quite possible some links/sources doesn't work properly anymore!
- Former hunters, they focus now on conserving species (1 January 2004)
On Isla Noir, a tiny island south of the Straits of Magellan, an expedition, consisting of members of the conservation group Feather Link, counted the number of rockhopper penguins there. They found that more than 500,000 of the penguins breed on the island, when the population had previously been estimated at 70,000.
Source: Cincinnita Inquirer
- 'Lodewijk, de koningspinguïn' (Belgium - December 2003/January 2004)
In HetPaleis in Antwerp (BE), you can go to a stage play for children about a king penguin. It still is performing till January, 11th.
Title: "Lodewijk, de koningspinguïn" (meaning Lodewijk, the king penguin).
It's a musical tale, made by Dimitri Leue and Benjamin Boutreur. A story that plays in the deep south. A fairy tale, a search for freedom. A waddling trip between dream and reality. A tale between text and music.
Source: HetPaleis
- Penguins captured from wild for zoos (January 2004)
The Captive Animals' Protection Society has criticised the capture of 146 Rockhopper Penguins from Nightingale Island, part of the UK Overseas Territory of Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic. South African wildlife dealer John Visser, who captured the birds, was given permission by the Administrator of Tristan and the British Foreign Office.
The birds will be sold to zoos in Asia and Germany. At least four penguins died during transport to South Africa or shortly after arrival at Visser's aquarium.
Source: Captive Animals' Protection Society
- The frozen continent: Hot and cold penguins (7 January 2004)
According to scientists, global warming is the reason for adélie penguins to migrate from the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and going southwards in the Ross Sea. But the evidence of warming is patchy. Some parts of both the Antarctic and the Arctic are warming dramatically, sending an apparent warning to the rest of us. But other parts are getting colder.
Source: NZ Herald
- "Difficult commute disrupts penguins domestic duties" (11 January 2004)
Fewer Adelie penguins have been returning to their southern Ross Sea colonies to mate this season than last year. At Cape Royds, only about 1,500 breeding pairs were counted by penguin researcher David Ainley, who said that it means only about a third of the expected number of pairs returned this season.
Possible reason: the commute from their wintering areas has been longer and more difficult than expected.
Source: Antarctic Sun and Adelie Project by David Ainley
- Heard Island's wildlife online. (12 January 2004)
On Heard Island, Australian Antarctic Division studies where and how far king and macaroni penguins swim to find food.
You can follow this trace, transmitted by satellite trackers, on their special website.
According to programm leader Dr. Steve Nicol, data gathered during the expedition would be useful in developing ecosystem models for managing commercial fishing.
Source: AAD article
- Cause of penguin deaths proven (Falklands - 16 January 2004)
The many penguin deaths (see also news december 2002) which occurred around the Falklands during December 2002 to February 2003 has now been proven to be the result of algal poisoning, Falklands Conservation has announced.
Source: Merco Press
- Scientific expedition takes grants pass resident to island in Southern Chile (21 January 2004)
A study of rockhoppers and macaroni penguins on Isla Noir, could give some new conclusions about these birds.
Source: Grantspass news
- Rockhoppers in Zoo Berlijn (GE) become new friends (24 January 2004)
In Zoo Berlin (GE), where they already had 3 male rockhopper penguins, 6 new rockhoppers arrived from Tristan da Cunha, including 3 female penguins. The Zoo hopes that they will form couples and get chicks.
One couple is already formed during the trip from Tristan da Cunha, so a first chick could be possible in June.
Source: Berliner Morgenpost (GE) and Berlin Online (GE)
- 'Penguin Ranch' reveals hunting, swimming secrets (30 January 2004)
Marine biologist and medical anesthesiologist Paul Ponganis from Scripps Institution of Oceanography attaches 'Crittercams' to emperor penguins to get a bird's eye view as they hunt beneath the ice at his Penguin Ranch, 32 km off Ross Island, on frozen McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. He believes a deeper understanding of the emperor penguin's physiology could benefit human patients. He says: the study of emperor penguins could enable us to preserve for longer organs intended for transplant.
Source: National Geographic News
- Elusive lynx kills 40 penguins at Betty's Bay (6 February 2004)
A lynx, also known as a caracal or rooikat, with at least one cub has taken to raiding the African penguin breeding colony at Betty's Bay where it has killed at least 40 penguins in the past five weeks. "There are about 98 breeding pairs of penguins, and this caracal will have a serious effect on the breeding success of this colony," Spencer, of Overstrand Nature Conservation, said.
Source: Cape Times
- Penguins' popularity with viewers needs a few simple rules (7 February 2004)
There's been a huge interest of keen penguin watchers in the blue penguins or korara ( Eudyptula minor) at Pilot's Beach in Dunedin (NZ) lately. In fact people have outnumbered the about 60 pairs of blue penguins at Pilot's Beach.
Although these birds can be found in many places throughout New Zealand (and Australia), the tiny penguins are rarely seen due to their "night-owl" behaviour. The penguins arrive after dark, and if people would like to view the penguins at Pilot's Beach, they should avoid flash photography, excessive noise or disturbing the birds.
Source: Otago Daily Times
- Belgium plans new Antarctic Station (7 February 2004)
Belgium will open a new scientific summer station on Antarctica.
In 1967 the previous Belgian station, King Boudewijn base, closed his doors by financial difficulties and now a new one is planned.
The new station would be a joint venture from Japan with Belgium, and it should be ready for use in 2007. That year is declared to "International year of the Poles" and is also the 50th anniversary of the International Geophysical Year.
Source: VUB and VRT nieuws
- Antarctica exhibition in Haarlem (Netherlands - February 2004)
From February 28th, till June 13th, 2004 an exhibition can be visited at Teylers Museum in Haarlem (NL).
The exhibition has the title: "Extreme! Survive on Antarctica", and it will show several aspects of scientific research on Antarctica now and in the past. Several lectures will be held on sundays and they include an educational programm for kids.
Source: Teylers museum
- Penguin bones from "Land of Fire" rewrite bird's evolution (11 February 2004)
Fossilized bones found in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, are likely those of the earliest known South American penguin, which probably lived 20 million years earlier than scientists had supposed. The new find doubles the known fossil record of penguins in South America.
According to Dr Julia A Clarke of North Carolina State University, the new find may tell a radically different story from previous fossil discoveries about penguins and their prehistoric travels.
Source: NC State University
- Urgent Steps required to halt Falkland seabird declines (12 February 2004)
In the space of three years, 44,000 breeding pairs of albatross and 69,000 breeding pairs of penguins have vanished from one of the worlds' most important breeding sites at Steeple Jason on the Falklands.
There is now an urgent need to implement efforts to save these seabird populations.
Source: Merco Press and Falkland Islands News
- Next exhibition of the project Among Penguins (18 February 2004)
February 21 till April 4th, 2004, a new exhibition from Bruno Zehnders pictures and personal belongings takes place in Caves de Courten, Sierre (Switzerland).
Source: Among penguins
- Albino gentoo penguin sighted in the Falklands (23 February 2004)
There has been a sighting of an albino gentoo penguin at Kidney Cove on East Falkland.
Source: Falklands Conservation (pdf file)
- King penguin adopt gentoo chicks in the Falklands (23 February 2004)
On Saunders Island (Falklands) a king penguin has apparently adopted gentoo chicks. The bird has been seen feeding gentoo chicks and when one chick runs off, the king goes and finds another gentoo chick to feed.
Source: Falklands Conservation (pdf file)
- Record births in Münster Zoo (GE) (24 February 2004)
Last breeding season, they had a record of african penguin births in the Allwetterzoo in Münster (GE).
In the past half year, 24 chicks hatched there, bringing the number of african penguins to 72 birds.
Thanks to the intensiv care of attendants for the birds and the fact that young chicks become in a kind of penguin school after being fed by their parents for about 60 days, such success was possible. By giving the parent birds more rest and putting the chicks separate in a s"chool", the adult birds become breeding for a second period in one year. In that way they have twice chicks: in Octobre and in February.
In the penguin school, chicks learn how to be fed on dead fish and being looked after by the attendants.
Source: Allwetter Zoo Münster (GE)
- Ravensburg Puzzels has a new puzzle with penguins (February 2004)
Ravensburg Puzzels has a new puzzle with penguins
Source: Ravensburger.com
- 'Ice Fred: Sale temps pour les pingouins' (February 2004)
New French comic about penguins published by Casterman Uitgeverij
Title: "Ice Fred: Sale temps pour les pingouins"
Author: Sergio Salma
Source: Casterman Uitgeverij (Fr)
- Penguins on carnival parades in the Netherlands (NL) (2 March 2004)
On February 23th, you could have seen penguins during the carnival parades in both Roermond (NL) as well as in Klarenbeek, next to Apeldoorn (NL).
I made a special page about it, where you find several pictures.
- Ecotourism takes toll on wildlife (5 March 2004)
According to researchers, ecotourism is taking its toll on wildlife and may be endangering the survival of the animals.
Scientists have noticed that yellow-eyed penguins in areas visited by ecotourists are producing smaller chicks. Similar changes in behavior have been observed in polar bears at the northpole and bottleneck dolphins along the northeastern coast of New Zealand become frenetic when tourist boats arrive.
The immediate effects researchers have noticed are changes in behavior, heart rates, or stress hormone levels but they fear it could get much worse and over the long term "could endanger the survival of the very wildlife they want to see."
Conservationists are now calling for more research into the impact of ecotourism on animals and they also want studies done before new ecotourism projects are started.
Source: New Scientist and Planet Ark
- Thousands of penguins die (Australia - 6 March 2004)
Thousands of little penguins have died along south-west Victorian beaches in the past week.
Flora and fauna management officer, Philip Du Guesclin, from the Department of Sustainability and Environment, said the cause of their deaths was likely to be starvation.
Mr Du Guesclin said the 2003-04 breeding season was later than usual in western Victoria, with a significant number of chicks fledging in February and March.
"For the species it is better for breeding adults to survive (to breed in ensuing years) than to invest in the chicks with a reduced survival potential," he said.
Source: The Standard
- Humboldt penguins in Dresden Zoo back outside. (Germany - 20 March 2004)
Begin December, the 19 humboldt penguins in Dresden zoo moved to their inside winter enclosure. Now they're back in the open, and after a first check-up they took a bath and dried their feathers in the sun afterwards.
In a few days a new breeding season will start, the couples are already made since years.
The four chicks of last year are on their own now, without parently care anymore.
Source: SZ Online (GE)
- Penguin-cams snap amazing pictures. (24 March 2004)
Scientists have been able to observe the underwater behaviour of adélie and chinstrap penguins interacting with each other by strapping miniature cameras to the flightless birds' backs. Researchers from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) found that the penguins swim closely with at least one other bird on about 24% of foraging dives, in which they target the tiny shrimp-like Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) for food. The scientists think the co-ordinated behaviour may be a strategy for avoiding predators rather than to corral the krill.
Dr Phil Trathan of BAS says: "The images are really exciting. Genuine underwater behaviour in penguins is almost impossible to record because animals can act unnaturally when a diver is nearby - who, in any case, wouldn't be able to keep up with a penguin swimming at an average speed of over 8 km an hour."
Source: BBC News, BAS, New Scientist and Planet internet (NL)
Penguin news from April - June 2004
Look out: These are older news flashes, so it's quite possible some links/sources doesn't work properly anymore!
- Elusive penguin found at last (5 April 2004)
Peter, an african penguin, who became a world-wide celibrity after his rescue from the oilspill with the Treasure in 2000, finally has been spotted for the first time in almost 4 years.
He was one of three penguins, who got an small satellite transmitter, when thousands of penguins were caught and hundreds of kilometers further on released again. So people won time to clean the breeding places and shores from the oil, before the birds were back.
Ornithologists could follow the epic journey back to Robben Island through the internet. Peter was the first to reach home, but no-one was able to actually see him to confirm his arrival until now. Finally British physicist Peter Barham could identify him by the number on a metal band attached on his flipper.
More about Peter and the oilspill in 2000 on ADU (Avian Demography Unit)
Source: BBC News and The Guardian
- Fleeing the nest in search of that elusive waterfront property (7 April 2004)
A 10-year study by Taronga Zoo and the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service has shown that only a small percentage of young penguins from Sydney's penguin colony are returning to live near their birth homes when they reach adulthood. Researcher Dr Tracey Rogers says the most likely reason for this is there is no room at the colony's nesting site for the young penguins to set up their burrows, so they have to go elsewhere.
Source: F2 Network
- We can't p-p-pick out our keepers (GB - 7 April 2004)
In Edinburgh zoo (UK) king penguins (and many other animals) were confused when the keepers changed the colour of their uniform. Many years they wore dark blue overalls but now they changed to green. But the animals found this too much to take and began acting unusually. Probably it reminded them too much of the green uniform of their vets.
So a compromise had to be found and the keepers made the change easier by only wearing the green body-warmer over the old blue overall. After a few days the animals accepted the colour and now everything is back to normal, and the keepers have their new uniform.
Source: Edinburgh Evening
- Patagonia's coastal wildlife receive protective boost by Argentine government (South America - 8 April 2004)
Patagonia's magellanic penguins, rockhoppers and other coastal wildlife recently received a protective boost when Argentina's government signed a plan to safeguard the coastal zone from harmful development activities, like overfishing and unregulated tourism. The agreement was spearheaded by the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Fundación Patagonia Natural, an Argentine conservation group.
Hundreds of thousands of magellanic penguins breed along Patagonia's coastline in Punta Tombo, and the region also boasts the largest known colony of rockhopper penguins in Tierra del Fuego.
WCS has maintained a long-term presence in Patagonia beginning in the early 1960s, with studies of penguins, elephant seals, right whales and other wildlife leading to the creation of several protected areas along the coast.
Source: Newswise and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
- Penguins in a circus in Switserland. (Switserland - 15 April 2004)
Penguins are the stars of the season in circus Royal in Switserland. Some african penguins waddle over the edge of the arena and look at the visitors.
Source: eSpace.ch (in German)
My personal comment: For the public funny to look at, but for the birds a pleasure? I doubt it.
- Penguins' sex life perks up with visits? (Antarctica - 16 April 2004)
Baby adélie penguins have a higher survival rate if their parents are disturbed by humans, according to a surprising new study. Waikato University biologists Dr Nick Ling and Associate Professor Joe Waas tested the effects of tourists on Adelie penguins in Antarctica by deliberately disturbing 16 penguin colonies by walking through them up to twice a day.
It may be that the presence of humans excited the penguins so they had more successful sex.
However, a more likely explanation is that by walking through the colonies the scientists scared away skuas and other predators.
He said the issue was important because tourism was rising rapidly in Antarctica. "So maybe tourism is good," Dr Ling said.
Their study results were presented at the New Zealand Antarctic Conference on 15 April. The team will return in the next two summers to repeat their observations.
Source: The New Zealand Herald
- St Croix penguins affected by oil slick. (19 April 2004)
About 20 African penguins on St Croix Island, off Port Elizabeth, have been affected by an oil slick in Algoa Bay.
Rangers from SA National Parks launched a rescue mission by boat but bad weather made it too dangerous to land on the island. A spokesperson for the park said another attempt would be made to rescue the oiled birds.
They would then be taken to BayWorld in Port Elizabeth for cleaning with a special detergent and rehabilitation. When penguins are oiled they lose their water-proofing and get much heavier, making it difficult for them to swim.
Source: SABC News
- Thaw could spell doom for wildlife boom. (Antarctica - 8 May 2004)
On Australia's Heard Island the macaroni and king penguin population seems increasing, as glaciers melt rapidly, giving them more space to breed.
"There are now tens of thousands of breeding pairs of kings, and they are flooding up the valleys," says biologist Nick Gales.
But it's not necessarily good news, and scientists are worried that the penguins and other island wildlife will be limited by food availability. Global warming could mean less productive waters around the island.
Source: The Age
- Penguins ingest mollusk shells to obtain calcium for thicker eggshells. (10 May 2004)
While magellanic penguins nest on hard surfaces near coastlines and eggs have to survive being kicked around during penguin fights, these eggs have to come with extra-thick shells and therefore females need extra calcium. Because they can't fly and are made to be great swimmers rather than to walk gracefully on land, it is rare that they can collect much soft nesting material.
New research, led by University of Washington biologist Dee Boersma, has shown that female magellanic penguins have significantly more mollusc shells in their stomachs than males during the period around egg-laying.
Both female and male penguins typically fast for a week or more before eggs are laid. Both genders ingest mollusc shells before the fast begins, which could alleviate hunger during the fast. But females lacking other sources of calcium ingest significantly more mollusc shells, which apparently supplements calcium taken from their bones for eggshell formation.
Their eggs are rarely broken because the shells are more than 50 percent thicker than expected for their size, which is about twice that of a chicken egg, said Dee Boersma.
From 1984 through 2001, Boersma and her colleagues gathered data on 10,023 eggs at a magellanic penguin reserve at Punta Tombo, Argentina.
Source: University of Washington News
- Yellow-eyed penguins have poor breeding year on Stewart Island. (New Zealand - 18 May 2004)
Only 11 out of 42 yellow-eyed penguin chicks survived this season on Stewart Island (NZ), and only few are expected to return. Usually chick survival is 70-90%, making this the lowest survival ever recorded on the Otaga Peninsula.
The Yellow eyed Penguin trust has been working together with the Department of Conservation to find out the cause.
This year they monitored all of the nests along the Northern Coast of Stewart Island looking for evidence of cat predation. What they found instead, was that most chicks appeared to have died of starvation.
"Identifying the cause of decline is the first step in finding a way to protect these penguins and making sure that they do not disappear forever off the mainland", said Brent Beaven.
Source: Department of Conservation and Stuff.co.nz
- Rare penguin stolen from sanctuary (19 May 2004)
Thieves stole a female humboldt penguin called Piglet from the Scarborough Sea Life and Marine Sanctuary in northeast England and dumped it in a garden, according to the police. Luckily she brayed so hard that worried residents found her and now she is returned, but she may die from the stress of being moved and needs a course of antibiotics.
Source: Planet Ark and BBC News
- Wing tags hinder penguins' breeding (Antarctica - 19 May 2004)
Research of king penguins on Possession Island by French scientists has shown that banded king penguins breed only half as well as unbanded penguins, arriving later at their breeding grounds. Penguins' legs have the wrong shape for bands, so the devices have to be attached to their flippers instead, hindering them by swimming and sometimes harming them.
The scientists suggest that the results of some studies that involve banding penguins could be unreliable, and that work on endangered penguin species may be harming the birds it is trying to protect.
Bolton and his colleagues at Bristol University are testing a synthetic rubber band that he hopes will replace metal ones. Bands are desirable because they allow researchers thousands of kilometres apart to observe the same birds without expensive electrical equipment, he says.
However, not all penguin researchers agree.
Source: New Scientist, Nature and Scientist
- New exhibit for penguins in Schönbrunn, Vienna (=Wien). (Austria - 27 May 2004)
A new exhibit for king penguins and rockhoppers is opened at Schönbrunn, Wien (Austria). They got more space on land and in the water, and their breeding grounds will also be renewed.
Source: Tiroler Tageszeitung Online (GE)
- New exhibit for penguins in Naturzoo Rheine (Germany - 1 June 2004)
On June 6th, 2004 the new exhibit for the 22 humboldt penguins will be opened at Naturzoo Rheine (GE). They will live next to seals, who also get a new exhibit.
Source: Naturzoo Rheine (GE)
- A penguin's paradise. (14 June 2004)
Kikuyu, a kind of South african grass, introduced in the 1900s to stabilise the sand dunes, now threatens to choke the complete island Montague for the coast of Australia.
Today the weed covers nearly 50 percent of the island and if left unchecked could completely take over in the next ten years. Each year, more then 100 little penguins are dying after becoming entangled in the grass's long runners. Other seabirds are loosing their nesting places too, while covered by the weed.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service hopes to eradicate the kikuyu using a combination of spraying and burning, and replace it by native trees and shrubs, creating a penguin's paradise.
Source: ABC South East NSW
- Vanishing penguin chicks raise conservationists' fears. (17 June 2004)
The Department of Conservation (DoC) and the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust fear that yellow-eyed penguins may disappear from Stewart Island after the discovery that all 42 of the chicks on the island from this breeding season have almost certainly died. They now plan more intense monitoring to find out why the penguins are dying.
Source: New Zealand Herald
- Penguins may be free of killer banding. (18 June 2004)
The Australian government is likely to prohibit the use of flipper bands on little penguins, while research has give evidence that this practice kills the very animals it's supposed to monitor.
The scientist in charge of the research, Dr Peter Dann of Phillip Island Nature Park, said his 5-year study has "shown exactly the same kind of trend as the French research [see article and also news of May 19th] that there is some detrimental effect of using flipper bands on penguins so we stopped using them".
Source: ABC Science online
Penguin news from July - September 2004
Look out: These are older news flashes, so it's quite possible some links/sources doesn't work properly anymore!
- Zoo's rare albino penguin is dead (UK - 19 August 2004)
A extremely rare albino African penguin chick, which hatched at Bristol zoo in November 2002, has died. Snowdrop showed no sign of illness, but died mysteriously on Sunday, staff at the zoo said. It is believed the bird, first shown to the public as a six-week-old chick in December 2002, was the first albino penguin to be hatched at a zoo.
Source: BBC
Penguin news from October - December 2004
Look out: These are older news flashes, so it's quite possible some links/sources doesn't work properly anymore!
- Wandering dogs kill penguins on Stewart Island (New Zealand - 15 October 2004)
Four little blue penguins have been killed by wandering dogs on Stewart Island (NZ) since they started to come ashore to nest this season. Despite warnings, some dog owners still allow their dogs to wander unsupervised. While little penguins are protected by the Wildlife Act, killing them will have consequences.
Source: DOC
- Fairy blue penguins in zoo at Cologne. (Germany - 20 October 2004)
In October 2004, 8 fairy blue penguins arrived at the zoo in Cologne (GE) and that is an unique thing for European zoos.
The blue penguins (subspecies novaehollandiae) come from a zoo in Melbourne. Just one day after the arrival, they already found an egg, and the zoo hopes those little penguins will soon start to breed successfully.
Source: Cologne zoo (GE)
- New exhibition of the project Among Penguins (Switserland - 28 October 2004)
Bruno Pinguin Zehnder © - alle Rechte vorbehalten
October 30th 2004 till April 17th, 2005, a new exhibition of Bruno Zehnders emperor penguin pictures and personal belongings takes place in the "Museum of Natural History", Basel (Switzerland).
They also give special lectures about penguins, Antarctica etc...
Bruno Penguin Zehnder is a famous emperor penguin photographer (see picture) who died 1997 among his favorite birds.
Source: Among penguins
- Penguin safety to be examined (Australia - 31 October 2004)
While frequently little penguins are found dead near the railway line at Penguin Point, Tasmania, they are planning to put a fence between the beach and the railway line. The use of fences has been successful in other places in keeping little penguin colonies safe from the dangers of trains and cars.
Source: Examiner
- Researcher fears for penguins (Australia - 1 and 4 November 2004)
On Middle Island (Warrnambool) last week, a massacre of at least 180 little penguins took place. The penguins and 183 muttonbirds were most likely killed by foxes.
Penguin researcher Rebecca Overeem, doing penguin research on the island for her PhP, says the colony has been decimated.
According to Deakin University pro vice-chancellor Rob Wallis, the latest penguin deaths would have a major impact on population viability and showed the vulnerability of penguins.
The foxes will be shot and poisoned.
Source: Warrnambool Standard and Warrnambool Standard
- Study: Antarctic wildlife facing food shortages (3 November 2004)
Global warming and disappearing sea ice in the Southern Ocean are causing food shortages, scientists said. The most important link in the Antarctic food chain is krill as it is the source of food for whales, seals and penguins. Krill numbers however have declined by 80% in the last 25 years, and a new study by British researchers links that decline to global warming. The overall effect of the krill population decline isn't clear, but urgent research is needed to determine its impact on penguins and other Antarctic wildlife.
Source: Planet Ark/Reuters, BBC News, Timesleader and Nature
- New exhibit for african penguins (Germany - 27 November 2004)
In the Zoo of Wuppertal (GE), they started to build a new exhibit for african penguins.
Plans: a kind of South African coast-line and an under-water-viewing.
It should be ready in Oktober 2005, when the Zoo assosiation, who donated the gift, has his 50th anniversary.
Source: Westdeutsche Zeitung online (GE)
- Littlest penguin takes deepest dive (Australië - 29 November 2004)
Phillip Island Nature Park researchers have announced the deepest dive recorded by a little blue penguin.
The male penguin, known only as number 3002, was recorded diving to a depth of 62 metres, breaking the previous little penguin diving record set in 2002 by an amazing 5 metres.
The dive was recorded by "bio-loggers" - small computers, deployed by Phillip Island Nature Park researcher, Dr Andre Chiaradia and Yan Ropert-Coudert and Akiko Kato from the Japanese National Institute of Polar Research during their collaborative study of diving.
Source: Phillip Island
- Icebergs keep blocking the way to open sea. (Antarctica - 14 December 2004)
Since 2001 a giant iceberg B-15 broke off and bothers penguins to feed in open sea.
This season, the colony of emperor penguins at Cape Crozier seems to be doing well, but it appears B-15 is blocking now the Antarctica's McMurdo Sound. Many chicks will die of starvation while the iceberg is cutting off a supply route.
Scientists fear that only about 10 percent of the 50,000 breeding pairs of adélie penguins at nearby Cape Bird will rear a chick this season, Sanson said.
Adult penguins there face a 60-mile round trip across the ice to reach open water and food.
Source: ENN , PlanetSave and Frankfurter Allgemeine (GE)
- Race to determine penguin disease as more die (New Zealand - November/December 2004)
Close to 60 per cent of yellow-eyed penguin chicks die from a mysterious disease at Otago Peninsula (NZ) and on North Otago. Scientists try to figure out which one of the 50 strains of the bacteria, described as avian diphtheria (one causes human diphtheria) is killing the chicks. Some accessible penguins were been given antibiotics twice a day to fight the infection, but it is impossible to dose all penguins because of little resources and the stress it caused the birds, Mr Houston said.
In the meanwhile a chick at Stewart Island died too from the same disease.
There are only 540 breeding pairs of yellow eyed penguins in the world - making it one of the rarest penguins around.
The disease, which causes respiratory problems and poisons young birds, is a serious problem.
"It is the chicks that are dying, however the adults at this stage are not infected and they are the breeding population and so they should come back again next year," trust spokesperson Sue Murray says.
Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust is hoping it is a one off epidemic.
Inoculation is needed for penguin chicks to combat avian diphtheria, says a Katiki Point Penguin Trust representative.
Source: Stuff.co.nz (26 Nov), Stuff.co.nz (3 Dec), Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust, New Zealand Herald , Birdlife and One News TV.NZ (6 Dec)
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