25 April : "World Penguin Day"

"World Penguin Day"

25 April : "World Penguin Day". Today, it's World Penguin Day, these species, which are highly threatened by climate change.

World Penguin Day, English “World Penguin Day” indeed concerns the endangered polar animal about which it is necessary to alert the world opinion.

The date of the 25 April was chosen because it coincides with the usual migration date of the penguins of Terre Adélie.

(Let the clumsy people of the world be reassured, it's not about them…)

Penguins are seabirds that live exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. They are regularly confused with penguins. But, they are two different species living in different regions of the world…

Global warming

“We know that global warming is radically changing the environment in Antarctica and that animals in Southern Ocean ecosystems are struggling to adapt.”, explains Cassandra Brooks. He's a penguin specialist at Stanford University. (United States).

Penguins are now directly threatened by climate change. This change changes their living conditions and may make them starve, except to undertake a giant migration into a southern ocean that is unwelcoming to their giant colonies.

Scientists who have studied the phenomenon believe that 70% royal penguins could disappear by the end of the century.

There are many threats to these animals

“Penguins are very good ambassadors for understanding the need to protect the resources of the Southern Ocean”. Christian Reiss told AFP, biologist at the United States Oceanic and Atmospheric Observation Agency.

“They are emblematic species of this ecosystem. And the fate of their people will depend on effective management of their ecosystem and understanding the role of global warming and human impacts.”, continues the researcher.

En 2015, le Pew Charitable Trust, an American organization had stated in a study that 12 on the 18 penguin species (that live from the Galapagos to Antarctica) were in decline.

Penguins are particularly vulnerable to climate change for several reasons.

• the melting of pack ice and drifting ice affects their habitat,
• younger ones can live on snow but are not adapted to rain,
• and the warming of the water has an influence on the abundance of their food.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature – IUCN, only two species of penguins see their population increase. These are the Adelie penguin (Pygoscelis adelia) and the royal penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus).

To preserve the most fragile species, consensus was reached in October 2016 between the 25 members of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Flora and Fauna (Ccamlr). The creation of the world's largest marine sanctuary in part of the continent's pristine waters.

Presented by the United States and New Zealand, The project involves the creation of a protected area in the Ross Sea. A huge bay on the Pacific side. It will span more than 1,55 million square kilometres, an area larger than France, Italy, Benelux, the Germany, Switzerland and Austria together.

Science and the future

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Some pictures by Greenpeace, occasionally :

Gentoo penguins are easily identified by the triangular white patch they proudly display above their eye, stretching to the top of their head. It is on spaces devoid of ice that they feel most comfortable. This is why they mainly congregate on the Antarctic Peninsula coastline and offshore islands..

The Gorfou Macaroni – cousin of the rockhopper penguin. southerner, it very rarely ventures into the cool waters of the Antarctic Ocean. And it nests on the Antarctic Peninsula and surrounding islands.

Faithful in love, chinstrap penguins always return to their partner. And they're busy hatching their eggs every year.

Adélie, the most beautiful. never higher than 70 centimeters, these small specimens may appear ill-equipped when seen waddling on the pack ice, but they are actually the best krill hunters.