The penguins and the bees
Posted in: In the news by Lily Barclay , October 15, 2008 – 3:34 pm
The animal world is becoming worryingly out of sync. In recent weeks we’ve had reports on disappearing honeybees, starving guillemots killing chicks in neighbouring nests, and the decline of the common toad. Sadly, all these situations seem to be linked to man-made problems, such as climate change, the threat of overfishing and habitat destruction.
But one of the strangest nature stories of the year happened this month, when hundreds of penguins emerged from the surf on the coast of Brazil. The beach coastguards immediately swapped Baywatch-like posing for penguin-saving action. Although this mainly involved protecting the penguins from an over-enthusiastic public, whose initial reaction was to place the birds in ice coolers.
After they were rescued, hundreds were flown down to the southern tip of Brazil, to be released into the ocean, while some were returned on a navy vessel. Other penguins that were exhausted by their long journey stayed for a while longer to make the most of the Brazilian weather and its beaches.
The story might seem laughable, but there’s a serious side to it too. Of the 1000-plus penguins that were recovered on land, about a fifth died of starvation, exhaustion and other illnesses, plus many are expected to have perished out at sea.
The penguins are thought to have travelled further than normal to find fish, which has led experts to believe that something may have gone wrong with their regular supply. This theory is supported by evidence of penguins eating fish that are not part of their normal diet.
Other speculated causes for the penguins’ wayward journey include changes in water temperatures causing confusion on the migratory routes. Other theories include changes in ocean currents and man-made pollution.
All in all, many experts are worried that the penguins’ strange behaviour could be a symptom of a much wider problem.
Comments
really interesting post. who cares about the penguins? well, me for a start, bcos as you point out, they are an indication of a much wider problem, which is kinda the world going down the pan. but we’ve all got a little too obsesses with the money in our pockets right now. western idiots that is.
Flag as inappropriatewhat a shame that subjects like this are being ignored because apparently playing cardiac arrest with the stock markets appears to be more worthy than just stopping thr panic and taking a huge step back and appreciating something before we wreck it.
rant, this may be, but it comes from an extremely considered point of view.
Why is it that even if there are so many of us interested in saving the planet, it still isn’t enough? We should be so many that want to appreciate the world we are in before others come and destroy it. But were are we? Isn’t there absolutely anything we can do to save them? It tears my heart apart knowing I want to do something, and having my hands tied up by those who choose money over humanity and nature.
Flag as inappropriateA really interesting topic, its true, it would appear that the story of the penguins and the other weird happenings in the animal kingdom are just a visibe symptom of a much larger problem. Not only is it not fair, it really is a reminder that if nothing changes in the way the earth is treated that it may no longer be able to support the creatures upon it, including humans. What species becoming extinct will it take to change the way we live?
Flag as inappropriateYes I’m with you others on this subject-and who could fail to be distraught at the plight of other animals, the Polar bear, for example? I believe we, in Britain, have already come a long way, recycling, green issues being paramount in many peoples lives by now (if not, I would assume the message hasn’t got through, for some reason, or else they care only about themselves? I have friends in America..their obsessions revolve around who is to become President, and who might win the Superbowl. I’m not generalising-they simply haven’t worked outwhat’s happening to the rest of the planet, and are far more interested in ridding the world of “Muslims” (they don’t yet understand that “Muslim” isn’t actually another word for “terrorist”-that’s extremely frightening.) I digress-Most of us appear to be at least trying to “do our bit”, but it’s fruitless if we don’t have the support of so-called superpowers. I’m a Company Director, and am told that “businesses” aren’t able to recycle their rubbish, for example(one of many complaints I have, considering I can virtually recycle EVERYTHING at home, so end up transporting everything there, for the time being, which isn’t bad, considering it’s a 5.6 mile round trip on foot each day! Wake up World, is all I can say!
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