Death March of the Penguins

Polar bears and penguins are doomed, I tell you!

Just read the sad story of penguins, which for some reason* move from the chill of Antarctic and Patagonia to the hot beaches of Rio de Janerio.

Penguins that wash up alive on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil are taken to Niteroi Zoo in the city and eventually airlifted back to Antarctica or Patagonia. But many more penguins have been found dead than alive. Most of the more than 400 birds found in past two months were babes.

By babes, they mean baby penguins, of course.

* They do not know why this is happening. Overfishing and environmental pollution due to offshore drilling ("many are drenched in petroleum") are being offered as possible causes. Expectedly, global warming and climate change has also been brought up but not sure uf there is any direct evidence to suggest this. Either way, this is one of those "Sigh... I'm not surprised but this is still sad" moments.

(Hat tip to The Green Ogre blog, where I found the link to the penguins article on MSNBC.com last month. The blog has a really clever tagline: "All things eco, not necessarily Umberto." You've got to be an eco-geek and have literary leanings like me to appreciate the beauty in that. :))