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World's largest penguin colony hit by climate
BBC • • world
Key Points:
- Aerial surveys reveal a 63% decline in chinstrap penguin nests on Zavodovski Island between 2011 and 2025, marking an alarming drop in the world's largest penguin colony.
- Climate change is identified as the primary cause, with warming waters pushing krill—the chinstraps' main food source—southward, while limited nesting sites prevent the penguins from following their prey.
- Despite the chinstrap decline, macaroni penguins on the island are thriving due to their more adaptable diet and ability to forage in warmer waters.
- Other factors such as volcanic activity and competition from humpback whales were examined but found less significant compared to the climate-driven shifts in ocean food supplies.
- The world's largest penguin colony title has shifted to Cape Adare in the Ross Sea, over 5,000 km away, reflecting significant ecological changes in Antarctic penguin populations.
