The Wildlife Conservation Society has discovered a new colony of Magellanic penguins in a remote island in Argentina. The researchers at the Wildlife Conservation Society traced the colony on the eastern side of Isla de Los Estados off the eastern tip of Tierra del Fuego.
The researchers came across the new colony when they were surveying a known colony of rockhopper penguins, which they had been tracking for more than two years. During this time, the researchers had come across nesting burrows of Magellanic penguins in tall grasses.
Though the exact number of penguins is still unknown, they held a survey of the colony to estimate the actual population, penguin size and even took blood samples to determine their health and diet.
WCS associate researcher Andrea Raya Rey was quoted in the Society’s websites page as saying that they were so excited to come across the new penguin colony. Rey also said that they could now demand for more protection as more colonies were being discovered.
The discovery has only added to the increasing list of Magellanic penguin colonies, the WCS said. The largest colony of Magellanic penguins is in Punta Tombo Provincial Reserve that has been developed with the help of WCS. The society has been engaged in conserving these species for a long time.
The Magellanic penguin is listed in the Red List as Near Threatened. The population of these penguins are said to be decreasing over the years.
