Friday, February 19, 2016

Penguins' Plight

Read this very sad story on CNN. Too bad not much can be done for them, especially since this is part of nature's workings:

About 150,000 penguins have died since being stranded by a vast iceberg that became lodged off the coast of Antarctica six years ago, according to the journal Antarctic Science. 
Combined with expanding ice, the B09B iceberg, which at 1,120 square miles is almost the size of Rhode Island, has cut off the Adelie penguins' food supply and changed the landscape of their home, according to a February report in the peer-reviewed journal published by Cambridge University Press. 
The once 160,000-strong colony has now dwindled to 10,000 penguins. 
"The arrival of iceberg B09B in Commonwealth Bay, East Antarctica... has dramatically increased the distance Adélie penguins breeding at Cape Denison must travel in search of food," said researchers in the report. 
The outlook for the Cape Denison Adelie penguins remains dire. Unless the colossal iceberg is broken up by sea ice, scientists predict the colony will disappear in 20 years. 
About 5,500 pairs are still breeding in the area, but there has been a significant decline in their population compared with a century ago, according to estimates based on satellite images and a census in 1997.

Apparently, there is an understanding among nations that no intervention can be made by humans on animal life in Antarctica, so as not to alter nature's natural course.

It just seems so sad.

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