Cea mai mare colonie de pinguini din lume, decimată de schimbările climatice

A remote island near Antarctica has lost its largest colony of chinstrap penguins, likely due to climate change affecting food chains, according to a new study. Drone and satellite images revealed a decline of over 680,000 penguins on Zavodovski Island from 2011 to 2025. Researchers express concern over the rapid disappearance, suggesting the International Union for Conservation of Nature should reclassify the species as endangered. The population dropped from approximately 1.09 million breeding individuals in 2011 to 402,000 in 2025, a 63% decrease. The decline is linked to reduced krill availability due to warming ocean temperatures, pushing krill to colder waters that chinstrap penguins cannot tolerate.