Blogs / 80beats

Six penguin species will receive “threatened” status and one will receive “endangered” status under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. federal government announced today. But to the disappointment of wildlife advocates, three other penguin species including the famous emperor penguin (featured in the movie “Happy Feet”) were denied protection under the act. “There are certainly issues with those species, but we did not believe at this time that the populations were reduced or that there were significant threats to lead us to make a determination that they are threatened with extinction,” said Kenneth Stansell, deputy director of the Fish and Wildlife Service [AP], the government agency responsible for the decision.

The “threatened” species include the yellow-eyed penguin, white-flippered penguin, Fiordland crested penguin, Humboldt penguin, erect-crested penguin, and some populations of southern rockhoppers; the “endangered” species is the African penguin. The birds’ habitats range from Antarctica to Peru to South Africa. None of the species are native to American soil, so their new status will have little direct bearing on U.S. policy. But listing the penguins under the act will raise awareness about the species and could give the U.S. leverage in international negotiations to protect them from fishing, habitat loss, development and other threats [AP]. These species will join the polar bear, which was recognized as “threatened” earlier this year, as some of the first species to be officially protected because of threats from global warming.

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This summer, hundreds of Magellanic penguins washed ashore on Brazilian beaches, almost 2,000 miles away from their home in Patagonia. While a few penguins are typically discovered on Brazil’s coast each summer, scientists have been perplexed and worried over the mysteriously high number of drifters this year, and say they still don’t have an answer to what brought the birds so far north. In response to the crisis, an animal rescue group staged a dramatic air lift to bring the birds back home.

Like some maritime dust-bowl migration, more than 1,000 of these penguins have floated ashore in Brazil, nearly as far north as the equator. By the time their webbed feet touch sand, many are gaunt and exhausted, often having lost three-quarters of their body weight. Even more have died. “This year is completely anomalous,” said Lauro Barcellos, 51, an oceanographer who founded a rehabilitation center for penguins in southern Brazil. “. . . I’ve worked in this field for 35 years, and I have never seen anything like this” [Washington Post].

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Researchers are about to get to know the 20,000 African penguins that live on Robben Island, South Africa in intimate detail, down to the last feather. A new computer program will use pictures of the penguins going about their daily business to identify each individual based on the distinct pattern of black spots on its belly. Each bird’s markings are as unique as a human fingerprint, researchers say.

Previously, researchers had to clip metal ID tags onto the penguins if they wanted to keep track of them, but that system was less than ideal. This new biometric solution has the advantage over tags as it can operate without the birds having to be caught, which greatly reduces stress on penguin and scientist. “These penguins are vicious, nasty things that bite and scratch. They have very sharp beaks. I do love them but, by God, they can hurt,” said Professor Peter Barham, of Bristol University…. “It’s no fun trying to get tags on them” [Telegraph].

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