Dead little blue penguins continue to wash up on the shores of New Zealand. Experts point to climate change as the possible culprit

Antarctic penguins may be near extinction, scientists say 2:16 (CNN) — The bodies of hundreds of blue penguins have washed up on New Zealand’s north coast beaches in recent weeks, according to conservationists, who fear that climate change is causing penguins to starve.
Kororā, also known as little blue penguins, are native to New Zealand but are “at risk” of decline, according to the country’s Department of Conservation. They face the threat of dogs and ferrets, but are also likely to be killed on highways and in coastal housing estates. Conservationists have been trying to figure out why penguins are dying in droves since early May, when residents first spotted the dead birds on beaches. Graeme Taylor, a senior scientific adviser studying seabirds at the New Zealand Department of Conservation, said early lab results suggest that between 200 and 500 of the birds have died from malnutrition. “The cause of death appears to be that they have not found enough food in the sea and have starved to death,” Taylor told CNN. A marine heat wave in the country’s northern waters, coupled with the natural conditions of the La Niña weather cycle, have made it difficult for little blue penguins to find food, Taylor said. These noisy little birds with pale blue or indigo feathers often eat anchovies and sardines, diving as deep as 30 meters to capture their prey. But rising water temperatures cause small fish to drift into cooler waters, too deep for birds to reach, Taylor said. Initial results from a necropsy study by the Ministry of Primary Industries showed that the birds had lost their abdominal fat pad and were therefore in poor health before reaching shore. New Zealand experienced the warmest year in its history in 2021, with annual temperatures between 0.5 and 1.2 degrees Celsius above normal, according to the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. The waters surrounding the country “have been pulsating up to 3C recently,” New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute deputy principal investigator Nathanael Melia told CNN affiliate Radio New Zealand in January. La Niña is a regular oceanic and atmospheric phenomenon that refers to the periodic cooling of ocean temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific. The current phase of the cycle is bringing warmer water north of New Zealand, making it harder for blue penguins to access food, according to Taylor. It’s not a new problem in New Zealand, but it’s getting worse Department of Conservation ecologist Dave Houston says it’s not the first time birds have been killed in large numbers. “In the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, mass bird die-offs reached as high as 5,000,” explains Houston. “Compared to previous events, this is relatively small.” So far, penguin deaths have been recorded in the North Island of the country, where there have been cases in the past, and none have been reported in the South Island. Although Houston said that the phenomenon is part of a natural cycle, he admitted that climate change has exacerbated its negative effects. ” We know that [los pingüinos azules] they can survive in warmer waters, but it has made life difficult for them,” he said. Bruce McKinley, president of Birds New Zealand, said climate change and pollution could make things worse in the future. “The event itself is natural and has happened before, it could be changing in pattern or intensity due to warming of the oceans from human-induced climate change. But we don’t know,” McKinley said.