Experts are warning a penguin population along Chile's central coast
is on the path to extinction. After a survey
found a dramatic decrease in numbers. A survey of
two islands in the area last year detected 842 Humboldt
penguin breeding pairs or active nests. This year,
they found just one breeding pair. Veterinarian Paulina ARS
specializes in penguins. She says island surveys over the
past decades have either shown a decrease or the same
level of penguin and nest populations. None has seen
an increase. Therefore, we believe that this decreasing
trend will continue and can reach a more drastic scenario
, which would be the extinction of this species.
Javier Meza is the head of biodiversity conservation at the
National Forestry Office. She says a quote, perfect
storm of threats has wreaked havoc on penguin poppies and
other wildlife. There was the avian flu plus the
El Nino phenomenon that shifted all the food towards the
southern zone and therefore in the entire northern chile reproduction
dropped to almost zero levels. And on top of
that, many penguins died due to these two causes
bird flu. Plus the El Nino phenomenon, anthropic
causes like sea pollution and habitat destruction or disturbance are
also among the penguins main threats. Says President of
the Safari Conservation Foundation, Diego Penaloza, looking at
an X ray, he sees a hook inside a
penguin's throat and a fishing line inside this penguin's mouth
. In this case, it was a hook,
he says, but tomorrow it may be plastic that
kills a species.