More than 60,000 African penguins have died from starvation along South Africa’s coast, according to a new study published in the journal Ostrich: Journal of African Ornithology. The research found that between 2004 and 2012, over 95% of penguins at key breeding sites on Dassen Island and Robben Island vanished due to lack of food during molting periods. The decline is attributed to climate change and overfishing, which have drastically reduced sardine populations—the penguins’ main food source. Scientists from the University of Exeter’s Centre for Ecology and Conservation warn that similar declines are occurring elsewhere. Over the past 30 years, the African penguin population has dropped by about 80%, and the species was declared critically endangered in 2024, with fewer than 10,000 breeding pairs remaining. Changes in ocean temperature and salinity have disrupted sardine spawning, while fishing pressure continues to rise, worsening the crisis for these seabirds.
দক্ষিণ আফ্রিকার উপকূলবর্তী এলাকায় ৬০ হাজারের বেশি পেঙ্গুইন খাদ্যের অভাবে মারা গেছে। সম্প্রতি এক গবেষণায় এ তথ্য উঠে এসেছে। আফ্রিকান পেঙ্গুইনদের অন্যতম প্রধান খাদ্য সার্ডিন মাছ কমে যাওয়ায় এ বিপর্যয় ঘটেছে বলে প্রতিবেদনে উল্লেখ করা হয়েছে। গবেষণায় বলা হয়,
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