Emperor Penguin latest victims in Ice Breakup
The loss of Antarctic pack ice hit the Emperor Penguin hard in 2022. It has resulted in a catastrophic loss of chicks.
Emperor penguins are among the most robust birds on the planet, and the biggest penguins. Females keep eggs on top of their feet before they hatch, and then young hatchlings are carried by males through the Antarctic winter. Penguin fathers are famous for banding together, shuffling around in large circles, and making their way to the centre of the circle; constantly moving through the worst storms. Temperatures in Antarctica regularly reach -40 degrees Celsius (-40 Fahrenheit), and winds howl up to 120 mph (200 kph).
BBC News reported that Dr. Peter Fretwell of the BAS, (British Antarctic Survey), says up to 90 percent of Emperor Penguin colonies are expected to die off before the end of the century. In the west near the Bellingshausen Sea, where chicks traditionally grow up on ice that broke up early in 2022. At least 1,000 chicks died since the penguin chicks were under nine months old. They still had not developed the feathers that enable them to swim, but still had their downy baby feathers that only keep them warm. Wet chicks are likely to freeze to death.
A study published by Communications Earth & Environment by Dr. Fretwell, Aude Boutet, and Norman Ratcliffe showed that five colonies of between 500 and 3,500 pairs of emperor penguin adults, experienced “catastrophic losses” of their babies. Four of the colonies had no progeny that survived. Dr. Ratcliffe also said that the parent birds, faced with broken ice, had “nowhere else for the birds to go” to relocate colonies in the area, CNN reported.
The study paper says, ‘Record low 2022 Antarctica sea ice led to catastrophic breeding failure of emperor penguins’, and also concludes “a longer-term decline in sea ice extent is expected from the current generation of climate models … Emperor penguin [face] breeding failures that may represent a snapshot of a future, warming Antarctica where such events become more frequent and widespread, with grave consequences for emperor penguin population viability.”
There is little doubt that that thousands of chicks have died, according to Dr. Barbara Wienecke of the Australian Antarctic Division of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, told The Guardian.
While CNN reported that Cassandra Brooks, from the University of Colorado Boulder, an Antarctic researcher and Assistant Professor, thinks “our window in which to ensure [emperor penguin species] survival is narrowing.”
Emperor Penguin hatchling
Emperor Penguin Behaviour
Emperor Penguins live only in Antarctica, and grow to about 40 inches, (100cm), and up to 100 lbs (45kg). Their average life span is about 20 years, but some can live to 50.
They eat, fish, squid, octopus, krill, crabs, and other crustaceans. Emperor penguins can dive down over 1500 ft (500m), and hold their breath for 20 minutes. Babies lose their fuzzy down starting in November, and can fledge in January once they have waterproof feathers.
Predators include birds - southern giant petrels - leopard seals and killer whales.
It has been suggested that increasing Antarctic climate change means that emperor penguins should be classified as Vulnerable to Extinction now, instead of the current Near Threatened category by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature).
Sources
‘Catastrophic’ loss: Huge colonies of emperor penguins saw no chicks survive last year as sea ice disappears. (2023, August 24) CNN Cable News Network. A Warner Bros. Discovery Company. https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/24/world/emperor-penguin-breeding-antarctic-sea-ice-climate/index.html
Climate change: Thousands of penguins die in Antarctic ice breakup. (2023, August 24). BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-66492767
Emperor penguins: thousands of chicks in Antarctica die due to record-low sea ice levels. (2023, August 25). Guardian News & Media Limited. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/25/emperor-penguins-thousands-of-chicks-in-antarctica-likely-died-due-to-record-low-sea-ice-levels
Emperor penguin. (2023, August 25). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_penguin
Emperor Penguins before moulting