Attempt to resettle evicted penguins

Press, 17 January 1986, Page 20

Attempt to resettle evicted penguins

PA Nelson A combined New ZealandUnited States team will soon begin a big penguin resettlement project in Antarctica.

The team will help resettle more than 40,000 birds evicted by a development project 30 years ago. The Adelie Penguins were shifted in 1956, when a joint United States-New Zealand base at Cape Hallet, Northern Victoria land, was built.

“The only suitable flat land was the penguin colony. Eight thousand birds were evicted, and as the base expanded, one-sixth of the penguins’ nesting habitat was occupied by the yearround base,” a D.S.I.R. scientist and team member, Dr Rowland Taylor, said.

In 1973 the base was abandoned, but not before the number of nesting birds had fallen from an estim-

ated 60,000 to 40,000 pairs. The Adelie Penguins became the focus of scientific attention as surveys were held on their numbers.

“There were good years and bad years. We have noticed an upward trend, but the birds have not been returning at a fast rate,” Dr Taylor said.

Scientists believe that the removal of gravel beach ridges — bulldozed flat during the construction of the base facilities — deterred the birds from returning to Cape Hallett during the nesting season. The jienguins use the exposed ridge-tops as nesting sites during the Antarctic summer.

Two scientists and four support crew members will return, armed with an old bulldozer. The machine will build up a series of gravel ridges to encourage the Adelie Penguins to come home.

“They are returning as one year-old birds, but they are not nesting, simply surveying the place. At the moment it’s just guess work. It will be a very slow process to get them back.” Dr Taylor and other members of the six-person team will visit a colony of breeding Adelie Penguins at Cape Royds. “It’s been a bad ice year. We want to see how the chicks are growing,” Dr Taylor said.

the expedition will then sail by icebreaker to Cape Hallett.

There have already been encouraging signs. In 1981, a scientist constructed a small, isolated gravel mound in the middle of the abandoned base.

The following year, a couple of birds had occupied the area. Within two years, three were nesting. This year there were 10 nesting penguins, Dr Taylor said.