Adelie penguin. Photo credit: Michael Van Woert, NOAA NESDIS, ORA.
Happy World Penguin Day!
World Penguin Day is held annually on April 25 to celebrate penguins, draw attention to their current situation and to encourage everyone to protect them. It is celebrated on April 25 because that’s when Adélie penguins begin their annual northward migration.
The Pew Charitable Trusts is celebrating World Penguin Day this year by announcing the launch of the first global effort aimed at protecting penguins where the live. There are 18 penguin species and most are in decline, but their threats vary by location. Check out Pew’s interactive page to see where each species lives, what threats they face, and how to find solutions to save them.
Magellanic penguins, for example, are threatened primarily by climate change. A long-term study published in January revealed that heat waves and drenching rainstorms — direct results of climate change — are killing penguin chicks from the world’s largest colony of Magellanic penguins.
“Penguin protection is critical, not just for these iconic species, but for entire ocean ecosystems,” Andrea Kavanagh, director of Pew’s global penguin conservation and Southern Ocean work, said in a news release. “Penguins are sentinels of ocean health, and changes to their populations can indicate trouble for other species that depend on a robust food web.”
To learn more:
- Get more penguin facts here: Do Penguins Have Knees?
- And here: 14 wonderful facts about penguins from the Antarctic Ocean Alliance.
- Read the news release from Pew: Pew Launches Global Program to Protect Penguins.
- Check out this cool interactive map of Antarctic penguin habitats.
- And, because you can, find out what your penguin style is.
Copyright © 2014 by Marine Science Today, a publication of Marine Science Today LLC.
