OREANDA-NEWS Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have discovered previously unknown colonies of emperor penguins. This is reported in an article published in the journal Nature Communications. Bloomberg.

In winter, these birds live and breed on the frozen sea ice adjacent to the coast of Antarctica. Rising global temperatures cause the ice to melt, and this poses a threat to the existence of penguins.

As Vedomosti wrote. Ecology", a study published in the journal Nature Communications Earth & Environment in August 2023, showed that from 2018 to 2022, 30% of the 62 known colonies of emperor penguins in Antarctica suffered from partial or complete disappearance of sea ice.

Scientists regularly track birds using satellite photos. Against the background of bright white snow, flocks of penguins and the patches of guano they leave behind stand out in brown spots on the landscape. Three colonies recently discovered by experts on the Brant ice shelf were small – less than 100 birds, and the fourth consisted of more than
5000 birds. Thus, the total number of known colonies of emperor penguins in Antarctica has reached 66.

Peter Fretwell, a researcher from the British Antarctic Survey, believes that the discovered colonies probably existed for many years, they simply had not been noticed before. In his opinion, at least some colonies of emperor penguins
are moving: one of them, according to scientists, has moved about 30 km. "The Emperor penguins have taken on the task of finding more stable sea ice," Fretwell is quoted as saying by Bloomberg.