British scientists have discovered a never-before-seen colony of emperor penguins at Verleger Point in West Antarctica after discovering bird droppings using satellite mapping technology.
The brown droppings were easily identifiable as a stain on the ice, according to the researchers. The frozen ice guano cannot be smelled, unlike the pungent odor of the penguin colonies that breed on the rocks.
Although it was discovered in December by a Geographical Information Officer from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), the announcement was delayed to coincide with Penguin Awareness Day on 20 January.
Home to about 1,000 adult birds, including 500 pairs with young, only 66 emperor penguin colonies are known to exist on the Antarctic coast, half of which have been discovered through satellite imagery. According to a report published on Live Science, officer Peter Fretwell spotted the guano (penguins) while studying the European Space Agency’s Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.
Higher-resolution photos taken by the Maxar WorldView-3 satellite showed the emperor penguins as tiny dots and confirmed the newly discovered colony.
Located in extremely remote and inaccessible areas, BAS scientists have spent the past 15 years searching for guano patches of emperor penguins, which have been designated as an endangered species. Because they breed only on sea ice that is shrinking due to global warming, Fretwell predicted that at least 80 percent of breeding colonies will disappear by the end of the century. However, recent research suggests that there could be almost 20 percent more emperors in Antarctica than previously thought.
Emperors, reaching up to 100 cm in height and weighing 45 kg, are the largest and heaviest in the penguin family. Their majestic name is derived from their regal black, white and yellow plumage. They spend most of the summer diving for fish and crustaceans, and in the winter months, when temperatures can be as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius, they breed on the sea ice.
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