The Big Wobble : 12 million penguins in danger of a deadly bird flu outbreak in the Antarctic! It could be a catastrophe and one of the largest ecological disasters of modern times not just for the penguins but other animals in the area

Credit coolantarctica.com

A catastrophe of Biblical proportions and one of the largest ecological disasters of modern times is hanging in the balance on the Antarctic and the sub-Antarctic islands.

Hundreds of elephant seals, as well as fur seals, brown skua and kelp gulls, have been found dead as far north as South Georgia, the Falklands Islands and other sites in the region. However, the main fear worrying experts is, if the highly contagious virus reaches the remote penguin populations consisting of 12 million penguins.

According to Dr Meagan Dewar, chair of the Antarctic Wildlife Health Network, speaking to the Guardian, she claimed: "The situation among southern elephant seals was concerning." "At some sites, we’ve had mass mortalities, where we are getting into the hundreds." "There is a likely chance it could be avian influenza."

Tests have confirmed the worst bird flu deaths have been confirmed as test results become available. This time of the year is the breeding season for the penguins making them particularly vulnerable.

Climate change is a huge problem for the penguins. . .

The number of chinstrap penguins in some colonies in Western Antarctica has fallen by as much as 77% since they were last surveyed in the 1970s, say scientists studying the impact of climate change on the remote region. The chinstrap penguin, named after the narrow black band under its head, inhabits the islands and shores of the Southern Pacific and Antarctic Oceans and feeds on krill.

“The declines that we’ve seen are definitely dramatic,” said Steve Forrest, a conservation biologist who joined a team of scientists from the two U.S. universities of Stony Brook and Northeastern on an Antarctic expedition that has just ended. “Something is happening to the fundamental building blocks of the food chain here. We’ve got less food abundance that’s driving these populations down lower and lower over time and the question is, is that going to continue?”

The scientists, travelling on two Greenpeace ships, the Esperanza and the Arctic Sunrise, conducted their expedition to Western Antarctica from Jan. 5 to Feb. 8 and used manual and drone surveying techniques to assess the scale of the damage. The number of chinstraps at one important habitat in the region, Elephant Island, has plummeted by around 60% since the last survey in 1971, to fewer than 53,000 breeding pairs today, the expedition found. Reuters

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