Penguins on thin ice as 2C increase threatens to halve Emperor numbers

HALF of the Emperor penguins in the Antarctic could vanish within 40 years due to climate change, according to a new WWF report.

The environment charity has warned that if the global temperature is allowed to rise by more than two degrees it could spell the end for many colonies of the iconic species.

And it claims 75 per cent of Adélie penguins, which like the Emperors live on the Antarctic sea ice, are under threat.

It has called for immediate action to cut the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.

Some climate change models forecast the temperature could rise by two degrees within 40 years. This would cause sea ice to melt to such an extent that many penguins would be unable to survive, according to the report 2°C is Too Much, which was launched at the IUCN World Conservation Congress taking place in Barcelona this week.

The penguins rely on the sea ice cover on the Southern Ocean to nest and feed. Juan Casavelos, WWF Antarctica climate change co-ordinator, said temperature increases could seriously threaten the animals.

"Penguins are very well adapted to living in the cold and extreme conditions of Antarctica, so the continued increase in global temperature and resulting loss of feeding areas and nesting zones for their chicks has already led to notable reductions in their populations," he said.

"If temperatures increase by another two degrees these icons of the Antarctic will be seriously threatened."

If the ice disappears there is evidence to show open water species such as Chinstrap and King penguins move in and usurp the Emperors and Adélies. Emperor penguins, which are too bulky to climb over rocks, breed on flat sea ice that is connected to land.

There have already been severe declines within the 40 colonies in which they breed. One colony has dropped by 50 per cent in the past 50 years and another has declined from about 250 pairs in the 1960s to just ten pairs in 2001.

A rise in global average temperatures of two degrees Celsius is widely regarded by environment groups as a threshold level for unacceptable risks of dangerous climate change.

Dr Richard Dixon, director of WWF Scotland, said strong action from governments is needed to protect the penguins.

"The only way to save these penguins is for the world to get serious about reducing climate-change emissions," he said.

"Scotland has a unique opportunity to influence the crucial UN discussions about future climate targets by creating the best climate-change bill in the world. This needs to cover all our emissions, including those from aviation and shipping, if it is to be credible."

WWF is also calling for the establishment of a network of marine protected areas.

Stranded birds fly south – by plane

HUNDREDS of penguins that mysteriously washed up on the Brazilian coast have been airlifted home, using a huge air force cargo plane.

Almost 400 that had strayed on to beaches, including Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro, were saved.

The penguins were flown south on an air force C130 turboprop plane usually used for heavy military cargo, and onlookers cheered as the young Magellanic penguins were set free on a beach in southern Brazil and scampered into the ocean.

Experts hope a small group of older penguins released along with the young ones will help to guide them south to Patagonia.

The stranded birds were among nearly 1,000 penguins that have washed up on Brazil's north-eastern coast in recent months.

The others have either died or were not healthy enough to send back, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

Environmentalists say it is not known why the penguins became stranded so far north, but suggest they could have been carried beyond their usual range by a flow of warm water.