World's largest penguin colony shrinks two-thirds in just 14 years
Researchers say warming seas and shifting krill supplies drove the loss, while macaroni penguins rose 28% and now outnumber chinstraps.
- On Wednesday, a British Antarctic Survey study revealed that Zavodovski Island's chinstrap penguin population fell 63% between 2011 and 2025. The volcanic island lost its title as the world's largest penguin colony to Cape Adare.
- Climate-Driven warming has forced Antarctic krill southward into the Weddell Sea, disrupting the chinstraps' primary food source. Professor Norman Ratcliffe, the study's lead author, explained that chinstraps cannot tolerate the icy waters required to reach these retreating supplies.
- Unlike chinstraps, macaroni penguins have a broader diet and their population rose 28% while remaining stable. Researchers ruled out the 2016 Mount Curry eruption as the primary cause, noting the decline preceded the volcanic event.
- Populations across the South Sandwich Islands—home to 38% of the species—are falling, raising concerns among experts. Study findings suggest these declines could lead to an "endangered" classification on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
- Researchers warn that even the most remote parts of the planet are not immune to climate change. This numerical shift represents the most striking change in penguin community composition ever observed at a single location in Antarctica.
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93 Articles
Antarctica’s penguins are sending us a distress signal
Chinstrap and macaroni penguins nesting on the volcanic slopes of Zavodovski Island. | Nicole Richters via British Antarctic Survey This story was originally published by The Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. The world’s largest penguin colony has declined by two-thirds since 2011, most likely because of the climate crisis, a study has revealed. Scientists said the rapid demise of chinstrap penguins on Z…
Warming sea water is causing penguins' food to move elsewhere.
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Naslovi.netClimate is the cause of the dramatic decline in the number of penguins living on a remote volcanic island, according to scientists.
What was once the world's largest penguin colony has declined by almost two-thirds, a new study shows.
World's largest chinstrap penguin colony plunges by 63%
The number of chinstrap penguins breeding on Zavodovski Island near Antarctica has fallen by 63% since 2011, causing the colony to lose its status as the world's largest, according to researchers from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).Chinstrap penguins
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