Video: 5-Foot Penguin Fossil Discovered - National Geographic

image credit University of Texas at Austin video
(National Geographic)

Scientists in Peru have discovered a five-foot-tall, 36-million-year-old penguin fossil.

Can I say again that it was five feet tall? That's just about as awesome as the giant sloth.

Upon recovering a bit of a feather, they were able to determine that these were not your typical black-and-white tuxedo penguins, but they were rusty-red and gray. And five feet tall. Did I mention that? Additional discoveries from this fossil suggest that the evolution that took place to create our modern-day penguins actually took place early-on. Except for the part about being five feet tall.

Video here (National Geographic)

Dead Penguins Wash Up on Brazil's Beaches - The Guardian

photo credit The Guardian via Reuters

Scientists are trying to figure out what's killed over 500 penguins that washed up on Brazilian coasts recently. The penguins are of mixed species, but most are Magellan penguins which migrate north from Argentina, Chile and the Falkland Islands this time of year to find food.

"Many are not finding it: autopsies done on several birds have revealed their stomachs were entirely empty – indicating they likely starved to death."

Overfishing and shifting currents due to climate change and are suspect.

Typically a few penguins a year get disoriented and lost on their migrations and end up on the shores of Brazil.

Says Thiago do Nascimento, a biologist at the Peruibe aquarum: "What worries us this year is the absurdly high number of penguins that have appeared dead in a short period of time."

Full article here (The Guardian)