At risk: Gentoo penguins and seals at the Yankee Harbour in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. — AFP
AROUND parts of Antarctica last year, whole colonies of emperor penguins lost all the chicks they stoically incubated through weeks of darkness, -50°C temperatures, and 160km-per-hour winds.
This sad discovery came via a combination of commercial and government satellites that scientists adapted to spy on the penguins. These iconic birds depend on sea ice as a platform for breeding and raising chicks, but as the globe is warming, the ice is melting too early. The chicks, too young to swim, are drowning.
