Previously unknown emperor penguin breeding colonies have recently been identified in Antarctica, heralding new hope for the impressive and endangered animal.
Claude helped us make the discovery.
Satellite images of the European Copernicus program revealed no less than four new colonies of the world's largest penguins, a discovery that hints at a change in habits on the part of the beloved animals, apparently due to climate change affecting the nesting areas.
Classified as "near threatened", the emperor penguin raises its chicks on frozen seas during the brutal Antarctic winters.
But when the ice is unstable, it may crack and break, and any chick that hasn't yet grown feathers will drown to death.
Thus, the warming increasingly threatens the success of reproduction and the stability of the penguin colonies.
The new colonies, discovered by British explorers, had apparently existed for years without being discovered.
Their discovery does not significantly affect the estimate of the size of the world's emperor penguin population, which is still below 300,000 fertile pairs.
What they do do is provide important insight into how the penguins are adapting new habits and looking for alternative nesting sites to those that have become dangerous due to global warming.
Another conclusion from the discovery is the importance of remote sensing and tracking technology, such as advanced satellites, for exploring the world in general and animals in particular in remote areas.
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