Zavodovski chinstrap penguins face sharp decline
World’s largest penguin colony suffers ‘enormous population crash'
Wednesday, 7 October 2026
Photo by Bernd M. Schell on Unsplash
Warm-up
- What images come to mind when you hear "Antarctica"?
- How can warmer seas change life for ocean animals?
- Which animals in your region depend on a single main food?
Vocabulary
- colony
- A large group of the same animals living together in one place.
- decline
- A steady fall in number, quality, or importance over time.
- climate
- The usual weather conditions of a place over many years.
- endangered
- At serious risk of disappearing from the wild.
- ecosystem
- A community of living things and the environment they share.
- krill
- Tiny sea animals that many birds and whales eat.
- eruption
- An event when a volcano explodes and releases ash or lava.
- peninsula
- A piece of land almost surrounded by water.
Reading
Listen to this story
American EnglishThe world’s largest penguin colony on Zavodovski Island, in the South Sandwich Islands of Antarctica, has suffered a two-thirds decline since 2011, according to a new study in Current Biology. Scientists led by Prof Norman Ratcliffe of the British Antarctic Survey said the loss equals about half a million breeding chinstrap penguins and raises fears for the wider ecosystem. The team links the crash to the climate crisis. Winter temperatures around the Antarctic peninsula have risen far above historical levels, and a record 15.4C was logged at the Esperanza base on 6 June.
As waters warm, tracking shows chinstraps prefer to forage in cooler areas where they expect to find krill, but the prey has shifted south into the Weddell Sea. Macaroni penguins, which are less picky eaters, rose by 30%, but this does not offset chinstrap losses, and the species may need to be listed as endangered. Researchers ruled out local human impact and a 2016 volcanic eruption as main causes.
Comprehension
- Where is the penguin colony that experienced a major decline?
- By how much has the chinstrap population fallen since 2011?
- What cause do scientists say most likely drove the crash?
- Where have krill moved as waters warmed around the island?
- Which penguin species increased, and by how much?
Grammar focus
Past perfect continuous
Use had + been + verb-ing to show an action in progress before another past time, often with for/since to stress duration. Look for a second past reference: before, when, by then, until then. (Examples constructed.)
- By the study’s release, the colony had been declining since 2011.
- When krill shifted south, chinstraps had been foraging to the north-west.
Grammar exercise
Complete the sentences with the past perfect continuous.
- By then, temperatures (rise) ___ for weeks.
- By publication, counts (fall) ___ since 2011.
- Before the shift, chinstraps (forage) ___ to the north-west.
- By publication, researchers (track) ___ birds for months.
- By publication, krill (move) ___ south into the Weddell Sea.
Discussion
- What details in the study make the decline seem most serious to you?
- Should chinstrap penguins be listed as endangered now? Why or why not?
- How might warming seas change food webs in your region?
- What actions could help seabirds when their prey moves?
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