Penguins

Scientists have discovered a new colony of Emperor penguins in Antarctica – and it’s all thanks to their poo which was spotted from space. Photo: Stephanie Jenouvrier, CC BY-ND

Penguin poo spotted from space leads to incredible Antarctica discovery

Scientists have discovered a new colony of Emperor penguins in Antarctica – and it’s all thanks to their poo which was spotted from space.

Penguins

Scientists have discovered a new colony of Emperor penguins in Antarctica – and it’s all thanks to their poo which was spotted from space. Photo: Stephanie Jenouvrier, CC BY-ND

Scientists have discovered a new colony of Emperor penguins in Antarctica – and it’s all thanks to their number twos which were spotted from space.

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According to the BBC, the colony at Verleger Point, West Antarctica has been announced to mark Penguin Awareness Day, and is home to around 500 birds.

Scientists at the British Antarctic Survey say this brings the total of known emperor penguin sites around the continent to 66.

How was the new colony found?

Satellites were taking pictures of Antarctica, and scientists spotted big patches of guano (penguin poo) in an area where they hadn’t seen it before.

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If there’s enough of it, guano is fairly easy to spot from space, as the dark colours contrast against the white snow and ice.

Why are Emperor penguins in danger?

It’s all about climate change.

Emperor penguins are the only type of penguin that give birth to their young on sea ice, as opposed to on land.

Rising temperatures caused by climate change melts the ice, giving the penguins a lot less space to have and raise their babies.

This is having a drastic impact on their population.

It’s thought that 80% of Emperor penguins will be gone by end of century.