Penguin in 1911: Worst Journey
[90] [penguin-3-90] In 1911, the field log for Penguin is headed “Worst Journey.” The figure kept beside that heading is 18. It is a count or a date from the work, not a rank of the species’ worth. A zoo birthday card does not replace the log. This atlas picks a Wikipedia title as the hero image and then keeps the rest of the grade in view so a recovered stock cannot launder a Critically Endangere
Luc Jacquet’s 2005 film made Aptenodytes forsteri a global winter story. Scientists later argued the narration over-moralised a physiological commute. What did the 2000 Treasure oil spill show? About 19,000 African penguins were oiled near Cape Town. SANCCOB and volunteers ran one of the largest bird-rehab operations recorded.
The tight thermoregulatory huddle is an emperor (and some king) story. Burrowing little penguins and tree-nesting gentoos use different heat tricks. Yes on a decadal clock. Purse-seine competition and shifting sardine/anchovy biomass cut South African colonies by large fractions since the 1950s peak.
Salt glands above the eye dump NaCl as a concentrated drip from the bill — the same avian gadget albatrosses use. Why are crested penguins in trouble? Erect-crested and others depend on stable subantarctic fisheries and nest sites. Mice on Gough and other islands add a predation problem flightless birds cannot fly away from.
Keep 1911, “Worst Journey,” and 18 together or the note on Penguin stops being that year’s record.1911
Figures to keep
- Year of the note
- 1911
- Figure to keep
- 18
- Species
- Penguin
- Line in the log
- Worst Journey