From North to South

15/07/2026

🐧 Gentoo penguins are no longer considered one species. Scientists found genetic evidence that gentoo penguins should be classified as four distinct species, including one completely new species (Pygoscelis kerguelensis) discovered on the remote Kerguelen Islands.

🌍 Three of the four species are already threatened. Their small, isolated island habitats are increasingly at risk from climate change, making targeted conservation efforts much more urgent.

🧬 The discovery changes penguin conservation. By recognizing four separate species instead of one, each population can now be assessed and protected individually, helping conservationists focus efforts where they are needed most.

Biologists argue that gentoo penguins should be divided into four separate species, including a newly recognized “cryptic” species. The habitats of three of them are imperiled by climate change.

07/11/2024

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07/11/2024

An emperor penguin was spotted roaming a beach in Western Australia, marking the furthest north the species, which is native to Antarctica, has ever been recorded. 🐧🥺

Beachgoers were shocked when the massive penguin emerged from the water.

14/03/2024

😱 Scientists in Antarctica are warning of the spread of deadly H5N1 avian flu virus after the disease was first confirmed on the frozen continent's mainland last month and has since been detected in local penguin and cormorant populations.

Scientists in Antarctica are warning of the spread of deadly H5N1 avian flu virus after the disease was first confirmed on the frozen continent's mainland last month and has since been detected in local penguin and cormorant populations.

12/03/2024

A river longer than England's Thames flows beneath the Antarctic ice sheet, draining an area the size of France and Germany combined, new research reveals.

Warming temperatures could lead to Antarctica acting more like Greenland, the researchers wrote in their paper. Greenland gets toasty enough to experience surface melt each summer. Antarctica's surface currently stays largely frozen in summer, but if it begins to get warm enough to melt, then more water will likely reach the Antarctic ice sheet's base through cracks and crevices. This melt, in turn, could cause more melt down below.

Read more in article:

The hidden river could accelerate ice loss.

20/01/2024

🐧 Happy Penguin Awareness Day 🐧

Penguins are a barometer of the effects of human activity on the poles, according to scientists from institutions around the world.

Raising awareness about them, therefore, is seen by many as a way to communicate with people about the impending dangers of climate change.

Penguin Awareness Day is, for that reason, an opportunity for everyone involved in the life of penguins to chip in and talk about this vital creature.

It is a time to celebrate and commemorate penguins, but unless we do something as a collective to help penguins thrive in the wild, there may be none left in the near future.

That’s why the main focus of Penguin Awareness Day is to educate people on their situation, learn how climate change has affected them and also learn about the different species and where they live.

FOLLOW US TO LEARN MORE ABOUT PENGUINS AND HOW YOU CAN HELP!

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14/10/2023

🐧On the second Saturday in October, International African Penguin Awareness Day raises awareness about the plight of the African penguins.

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African penguins are on track for extinction by 2035 if measures are not taken to ensure their survival!

African Penguin Facts
~ African penguins keep the same mate for many years.
~ They live up to 15 years in the wild and 25 years in captivity.
~ They grow up to 27 inches tall and weigh anywhere from 4 to 11 pounds.
~ These birds may be flightless, but they swim up to 12 mph and have been known to dive up to 426 feet.
~ Do you hear a donkey? No! They also emit a braying-like sound similar to a donkey.

ADOPT an African Penguins here:
https://adopt.sanccob.co.za/get-involved/adopt-a-penguin/

Follow to learn more about penguins.

13/10/2023

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The population of African Penguins has declined dramatically due to overfishing and environmental changes in the Indian Ocean!



https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/10/african-penguins-could-be-extinct-by-2035-campaigners-say #:~:text=African%20penguins%20are%20on%20track,over%20the%20past%20100%20years.

Population has declined dramatically due to overfishing and environmental changes in the Indian Ocean