Imagine the huge levels of excitement that there would be if we were to discover a new colony of people somewhere in the world, particularly if that colony were thought to have died out, only to be discovered in huge numbers.
Okay, so whilst it may not be related to people, there has been somewhat of an amazing penguin based discovery of the same nature.
What has been found?
So, unsurprisingly, this amazing discovery took place in Antarctica, one of the most isolated and remote places on the Earth. This means that it is particularly fascinating and a source of discovery for many scientists and curious minds alike.
It seems that the remote nature of this part of the world has meant that a colony of 1.5 million penguins has been living on an island, completely undiscovered, unknown and able to breed, eat, swim and just generally waddle around as penguins do. All without us people knowing that they were even there.
It was only because of satellite images that this amazing colony of Adelie penguins were even seen, or should that be huge patches of their excrement! These large piles of poop then prompted scientists to use drones in order to learn more about these penguins and how they have been living.
Why is this so awesome?
Okay, so 1.5 million penguins is pretty awesome to consider just on their own. But there is something extra special about this particular discovery. The Adelie penguins that have been found are a species that have been thought to be on the decline. Over the past few years, climate change has meant that the seas have warmed and for ice loving Adelie’s this has meant it is harder to find ideal places to live and breed.
In fact, it was thought that during the 2017 breeding season for this particular breed elsewhere in the world only 2 chicks from 18,000 pairs of penguins survived. These penguins are thought to have been there since 1959, which makes it even stranger that for all this time they have not been picked up on.
It is no secret that we love penguins and that knowing that one which was thought to be in danger is looking likely to prosper is pretty great. With so many other places in the world that are currently undiscovered, who knows what other amazing penguins are out there, just ready for us to discover and find out more about them?