- Title: Chile's Humboldt penguins could face extinction as population plummets
- Date: 11th June 2024
- Summary: ALGARROBO, VALPARAISO, CHILE (JUNE 7, 2024) (REUTERS) (MUTE) DRONE VIEW OF PAJAROS NINOS ISLAND HUMBOLDT PENGUINS SWIMMING IN SEA PENGUINS ON ROCKS PENGUIN WALKING ON ROCK PENGUINS STANDING ON ROCK VETERINARY PAULINA ARCE WALKING IN CAVE ARCE LIGHTING UP CAVE INTERIOR WITH TORCH VARIOUS OF PENGUIN INSIDE CAVE INCUBATING EGG ARCE INSIDE CAVE PENGUIN INCUBATING EGG (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) VETERINARY AND EXPERT ON HUMBOLDT PENGUINS, PAULINA ARCE, SAYING: “In the last decades, we’ve seen a drastic decrease in the population. In all the islands we’ve censused, the penguin and nest population has either decreased or maintained the same level, but none of them has seen an increase. Therefore, we believe that this decreasing trend will continue and can reach a more drastic scenario which would be the extinction of this species.”
- Embargoed: 25th June 2024 12:07
- Keywords: Chile El Nino bird flu humboldt penguin population species
- Location: VARIOUS LOCATIONS, CHILE
- City: VARIOUS LOCATIONS, CHILE
- Country: Chile
- Topics: Environment,South America / Central America,Nature/Wildlife,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA001951410062024RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:The Humboldt penguin population has dramatically decreased in areas along the central coast of Chile, making them the most at risk of the 17 penguin species and putting them on the path to extinction, experts warn.
Last year, scientists surveyed two islands off the central Chilean coast and detected 842 breeding pairs or active nests. This year they found just one breeding pair.
Paulina Arce, a veterinarian that specializes in penguins says that penguin populations in all the islands surveyed decreased or remained the same.
Humboldt penguins inhabit colonies in the Pacific Ocean along the coast of Chile and Peru. They earn their name by bathing in the cold Humboldt Current. These flightless birds can weigh up to five kilograms and measure up to 70 centimetres when adults.
Diego Penaloza, president of the Safari Conservation Foundation says the main threats to penguins in the wild are marine pollution, lack of pet supervision, and disturbance of nesting sites.
Additionally, avian flu, exacerbated by El Nino, has wreaked havoc on penguin populations and other wildlife. As a result, Humboldt penguin reproduction rates have plummeted to almost zero, according to Javiera Meza, head of Biodiversity Conservation at the national forestry office Conaf.
"It was the avian flu plus the El Nino phenomenon that shifted all the food towards the southern zone, and therefore, in the entire northern Chile, reproduction dropped to almost zero levels, and on top of that, many penguins died," Meza said.
"It was like the perfect storm."
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