Saturday, March 26, 2011
Rockhopper Penguins
As many as 20,000 endangered rockhopper penguins are at risk in a remote part of the South Atlantic where a cargo ship crashed and split into two, causing 1,600 tons of heavy fuel oil to spill into the ocean.
The penguins live on the Tristan da Cunha archipelago, a British territory that has the distinction of being the most remote inhabited islands in the world. The current human population is about 265, and it can be reached only by ship. Conservationists are struggling to get assistance to Nightingale Island, where the freighter ran headlong into the rocky shore.
Hundreds of oiled-soaked rockhoppers have been recovered from the island, with more in need of cleaning. If left on their own, the penguins could die of poisoning from the oil.
Approximately 40% of all rockhoppers in the world are found on the archipelago.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
A Race Against Time to Save Oiled Penguins (by John Collins Rudolf, New York Times)
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