An IOI-Kids Project Penguins Penguins With Problems With Problems Matthew Schembri

Penguins are Endangered An endangered species is an animal that is dying out because of some reasons. In another word the total population of that species is decreasing. Penguins have been endangered for many reasons. Some reasons make complete sense, like, man made pollution and destroy their food sources. Others are surprising, such as deforestation. But there are also a lot of ways which people are trying to prevent penguins from becoming extinct and don’t exist anymore. In this project we can see some problems that penguins will have along their lives in their habitats. This problems can be human problems; oil spills, pollution, boats and catch and kill penguins, and natural problems; icebergs, weather and predators.

Human Problems Oil spills are probably the biggest problems for all types of penguins. The oil gets on their feathers and they get it in their beaks when they preen. Since they don't fly and must surface often to breathe, penguins are unable to avoid being coated if oil is on the surface of the water. Also their eggs will contain traces of oil in them too. This is a problem because it either kills the embryo inside or the oil deforms the developing chick. Penguins cannot see the oil coming and neither can most humans.

Different kinds of boats also endanger the penguins Different kinds of boats also endanger the penguins. A few commercial boats, such as oil tankers, do great damage to penguins. Oil tankers spill oil and they're so big they may hit some penguins. Another kind of boat that hits penguins is the speedboat. Speedboats go so fast and their occupants are certainly not looking out for penguins. Fishing boats cause a different kind of problem. When fishermen take fish away from the penguins’ environment, they are left with less food. Fishing nets can trap penguins. Fishing boats also can run into penguins too. Luckily for the Antarctic penguins, they only have to deal with oil tankers since the cold weather keeps other boats from the area. Other penguins, however, have to live with these dangers. If people would think about the wildlife in the area before going out for a joy ride, penguins might not be on the endangered list.

People have caused penguins to become endangered by doing many more things. Long ago, Indians and other individuals killed penguins, using them for meat, feathers and eggs. South American Indians raided penguin colonies in the offshore islands. When Europeans colonized New Zealand, Australia and South America, they also raided penguin breeding colonies. Egg removal is dangerous to the penguins because a female usually only lays one egg, at the most three, during the season. Penguins were killed for their skins. Since they have a very high fat content, penguins were also killed and their oil used to fuel the fires on the ships that were harvesting oil from whales. In 1857, 500,000 penguins were killed for their oil.

Man now pollutes the penguin habitat with oil spills and garbage Man now pollutes the penguin habitat with oil spills and garbage. Pesticides found in Antarctic penguins, thousands of miles from where they were originally applied, prove to be a real threat to the penguin population and their food. To sustain the total penguin population, approximately 20 - 25 million tons of fish, squid and crustaceans are consumed. Compare this to the 20 million tons the commercial fisheries remove every year from many of the penguins' feeding areas. If commercial fishing is taking place before or during penguin breeding season, this seriously reduces food for new chicks and endangers the chick survival rates.

Man also made chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls (a compound formed when plastics are burned) pose threats to all wildlife. Water pollution remains one of the biggest threats to the penguin population since they take their sustenance from the oceans and not the continent itself. Humboldt penguins are illegally killed for fishing bait or to bait crab pots. Tourists can give penguins human diseases when interacting with them. If man makes a habit of feeding the penguins in the wild, the penguins might get used to eating what they're fed and not get the proper nutrition. Deforestation is one way people continue to destroy penguins' habitat. No one would think deforestation would hurt the penguin population, but many penguins can and do live in forests. “People have many reasons to like penguins and penguins have many reasons not to like us too”

Natural Problems In the year 2000, two giant icebergs were reported to have broken off the Antarctic ice sheet. These icebergs go miles below the ocean surface so penguins can't go under them. Also, they can go miles high so penguins can't easily go over them. As if icebergs could do anymore damage, penguins can't quickly go around them because they are miles wide too. They need to access their food route and icebergs can block the way to their food supply. The penguins must walk an additional thirty miles more than usual to get to their food route and the baby chicks must wait longer for their meal. By the time they arrive at their chicks, there is less food available to regurgitate. Another natural problem is the weather. In Antarctica, there are many blizzards. It is so cold and windy in the Antarctic during the winter that no other warm-blooded mammal stays there during that season. Here penguins breed in the winter. Being as cold as it is in Antarctica, only 90% of the newly laid eggs hatch. Those that do, must survive nine weeks of bitter weather while the mother goes on a feeding spree and the father keeps the baby warm under its' 96.8-degree brooding pouch .

There are still a few more problems with penguin environment There are still a few more problems with penguin environment. Yet penguins encounter another problem coming from their habitat. Many birds attack the penguins' eggs and chicks. Great Scubas and the Dolphin Gulls are two such predators. Dolphin Gulls have a way of harassing the adult penguins off of their eggs so the Dolphin Gull can steal eat them. Great Scubas steal them penguins' fish and attack young penguins. In Argentina, Magellan penguins may fall prey to foxes and armadillos and gulls. Leopard seals are a big problem because penguins are a favorite meal of theirs. Sharks and killer whales sometimes eat penguins, as well. Roughly 50% of baby chicks will be victim to leopard seals, starvation or the elements during its first two weeks at sea. Even with all these problems, the harsh cold environment is what the penguins have chosen.

What can we do to help Penguins? As consumers, we can make a difference by supporting companies that are ecologically responsible. We can also send a message to irresponsible companies by not purchasing their products. When we buy gasoline for our cars, it would be worth our time to drive an extra block or two to support an oil company that has not been involved in any major oil spills. Parents should help have bills passed into law that will give penguins a safer world to live in.

“What will happen to penguins in the future. That is a mystery “What will happen to penguins in the future? That is a mystery. Yet it is clear that we need to help them”