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Penguin catastrophe: only two chicks survive, thousands dead, in East Antarctica

‘It’s like Tarantino Does Happy Feet, with dead penguin chicks strewn across a beach in Adélie Land’

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A pair of Adelie penguins are pictured at Cape Denison, Commonwealth Bay, East Antarctica, in this 2009 file photo. Photo: Reuters

Only two Adélie penguin chicks from a colony of more than 18,000 breeding pairs survived last summer in the Antarctic due to unusually extensive sea ice, prompting environmental campaigners to call for a new marine protected area.

The penguins in Terre Adélie in East Antarctica, which only reproduce on ice-free land, suffered a catastrophic breeding season after unseasonably large sea ice growth forced parents to travel further for food, causing their chicks to starve by the thousands.

In the wake of the breeding catastrophe, which occurred in January, WWF has called for greater protection for the waters off East Antarctica to ensure penguins do not face added pressure of competition from fishing fleets for their main food source of krill.

The Adélie is the most common type of penguin in Antarctica where their population is increasing, but Adélie populations have fallen by more than 65 oer cent in the past 25 years in areas where climate change is established, according to WWF.
Adelie penguins stand atop ice near the French station at Dumont d'Urville in East Antarctica in this 2010 file photo. Photo: Reuters
Adelie penguins stand atop ice near the French station at Dumont d'Urville in East Antarctica in this 2010 file photo. Photo: Reuters

The same colony failed to produce a single chick four years ago when heavy sea ice combined with unusually warm weather and rain, followed by a drop in temperature. That left many chicks saturated and freezing to death.

Rod Downie, the WWF head of polar programmes, said: “Adélie penguins are one of the hardiest and most amazing animals on our planet. This devastating event contrasts with the Disney image that many people might have of penguins. It’s more like ‘Tarantino Does Happy Feet’, with dead penguin chicks strewn across a beach in Adélie Land.

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