'It's just heartbreaking' Iceberg the 'size of a country' kills 150,000 penguins

 

 An iceberg "the size of a small country" has caused 150,000 penguins to starve to death in Antarctica.

Since 2010 a colony of Adelie penguins have been forced to make a round trip of 120km for food after the 2,900sq km iceberg left them landlocked on Cape Denison in Commonwealth Bay.

The penguin population has dwindled to only 10,000 from 160,000 in 2011, and scientists are fearful the colony could die out in 20 years.

GETTY

The iceberg was the same size as Rome

Scientists at the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of New South Wales conducted the research and said the penguins could be saved if the sea ice breaks up, or if the iceberg, known as B09B, is dislodged.

We saw lots of dead birds on the ground. It's just heartbreaking to see

Professor Chris Turney

Professor Chris Turney, a climate change expert who worked on the research, published in journal Antarctic Science, said: "It's eerily silent now. The ones that we saw at Cape Denison were incredibly docile, lethargic, almost unaware of your existence. The ones that are surviving are clearly struggling.

"They can barely survive themselves, let alone hatch the next generation. We saw lots of dead birds on the ground. It's just heartbreaking to see."

GETTY:The penguins were forced to walk 70 miles for food

 

GETTY:A climate change expert described the deaths as 'heartbreaking'

Penguins are known for a tendency not to migrate, and return to the same colony where they hatched, and Professor Turney said: "They're stuck there. They're dying."

He added: "Iceberg' doesn't really do it justice. It's like a small country, it's enormous.

"As the planet warms you're going to get more ice melting. The reality is, more icebergs will be released from Antarctica and just embed themselves along the coastline, and make the travelling distances for some of these colonies even further than they have been."

source:express.co.uk

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