MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Falklands Penguin Deaths Appeal
Mysterious mass penguin deaths in Falklands Islands waters has prompted the wildlife charity, Falklands Conservation, to intensify its appeal in the United Kingdom for funds to help combat the tragedy unfolding at sea and on land as the penguins stagger ashore to die.
The renewed appeal coincides with British newspaper reports focusing on the plight of the stricken penguins and asking for donations to support its research in a campaign to preserve the penguins. The mass circulation Daily Mail headlined its latest story: "Red Tide of poison kills 10,000 penguins".
The report says it is now almost certain the deaths result from a natural occurrence called red tide, caused by plankton, the basic food of many sea creatures, which, in certain conditions, stain the water browny-red and create a poison which grows as it moves up the food chain. A red tidal algal bloom has led to the closure of several shellfisheries along the Argentine Patagonian coast from Santa Cruz to Chubut.
Penguins which feed on squid and shrimp have been worst hit, especially Gentoo penguins, of which at least 10,000 are reported dead, along with an unknown number of other birds including albatrosses and petrels.
The Falkland Islands have the largest Gentoo population in the world, with 115,000 birds representing more than 40 per cent of the species.
Worst may be over The disaster began in early December and the worst now seems to be over. The newspaper reports say Falklands Conservation officer Becky Ingham has co-ordinated the collection of nearly 100 dead birds to be analysed at laboratories in Britain and Chile to discover the cause. The investigation has the co-operation of Falklands Veterinary Department and specialist wildlife veterinary surgeons from the Wildlife Conservation Society. A member of the Falkland Conservation Seabirds at Sea Team, Andy Black, has been taking samples on a research trip on the fisheries protection vessel Dorada.
Falklands Conservation website shows pictures of dead penguins at Fox Bay in pictures taken by Allen White. Port Howard Lodge manageress, Jackie Jennings, describes penguins lying on the beach dying, surrounded by swarms of scavenging gulls. On New Island, a large Gentoo population, normally 5,500 breeding pairs of penguins, are reported by wildlife expert Kevin Schafer to have declined to only a few hundred birds and eggs, under attack from predator Skua and Caracara birds.
Falklands Conservation website ? www.falklandsconservation.com -has donation forms for anyone who wants to help.
Harold Briley, (MP) London
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