Discovering a giant animal colony is a big deal. Discovering two, just miles apart, is crazy. But that’s what scientists found off the Antarctic Peninsula.
In Scientific Reports in March, researchers announced the discovery of two new Adélie penguin colonies on the Danger Islands, a 22-mile-long archipelago on the northeast tip of the peninsula, which juts toward Chile. Only two other penguin colonies in the world are larger. Altogether, they counted 1.5 million birds on the islands, more than doubling the region’s population.
Two giant new penguin colonies were tallied using overhead imagery. (Credit: Thomas Sayre McChord and Hanumant Singh/WHOI and Northeastern University)
Thomas Sayre McChord and Hanumant Singh/WHOI and Northeastern University
The islands, surrounded by waters rich in krill (the penguins’ main food source), have long been known as a popular penguin hangout. But the size of both populations, spotted and then counted using satellite imagery and drones, was ...
