University of Washington research report says that Climate Change is a cause for the deaths of the Penguin chicks from the world’s largest colony of Magellanic Penguins. The researchers took 27 years to conduct the study and found that the chicks were dying due to drenching in rain storms and extreme heat along with deprivation of food. When all chicks are less than 25 days old are most vulnerable to storm death and the number of storms has increased between 1983 and 2010.
To protect the chicks parents are too big to sit over and those are still too young to have grown waterproof feathers. Downy penguin chicks exposed to drenching rain can struggle and die instead the attention of their concerned parents. During extreme heat chicks without waterproofing can’t take a dip in cooling waters as adults.
About 200000 pairs make their nests every year on the arid Punta Tombo peninsula in Argentina, world‘s largest breeding area for Magellanic penguins. They reside in peninsula from September to February to hatch their young ones.
About Magellanics penguins
Magellanics are medium-sized penguins standing about 15 inches tall and weighing about 10 pounds. Males of the species sound like braying donkeys when they vocalize. Among 17 species of penguins, 10 including Magellancis breeds are found in the region, where there is no snow, it is relatively dry and temperatures can be temperate.
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