Zavodovski Island Chinstrap Penguin Colony Loses 63 Percent of Population Since 2011
A recent study published on October 7 in Current Biology indicates that Zavodovski Island experienced a dramatic decline in its chinstrap penguin population, with a staggering 63 percent loss from 2011 to 2025. The number of breeding pairs plummeted from approximately 543,000 to around 201,000. Led by Norman Ratcliffe from the British Antarctic Survey, researchers employed drone surveys and satellite tracking for their findings. Lucas Krüger García of the Chilean Antarctic Institute raised alarms about this decline, noting that this colony accounted for 30 percent of the world's chinstrap penguins. The decrease is linked to climate-induced changes in the Southern Ocean, which have impacted the availability of krill, their primary food source. Since 2011, Zavodovski has lost over a quarter of its total penguin population.
Key facts
- Zavodovski Island lost 63 percent of its chinstrap penguins between 2011 and 2025
- The study was published October 7 in Current Biology
- Chinstrap breeding pairs fell from nearly 543,000 in 2011 to roughly 201,000 in 2025
- The decline amounts to half a million breeding individuals
- Zavodovski Island is part of the South Sandwich Islands, about 1,240 miles from the nearest permanent human settlement
- The colony once represented 30 percent of the global chinstrap population
- Macaroni penguins increased 28 percent between 2011 and 2016 and remain stable at roughly 217,000 breeding pairs
- The island's combined chinstrap and macaroni population is roughly 419,000 pairs
- Krill harvesting is banned in waters surrounding the island
- The March 2016 eruption of Mount Curry does not explain the steady decline since 2011
- The IUCN listed emperor penguins as endangered earlier this year, with projections of up to a 50 percent decline by the 2080s
Entities
Artists
- John Dickens
- Lucas Krüger García
- Avery Schuyler Nunn
- Norman Ratcliffe
- Laura Paddison
- Jonathan Watts
- Sarah Kuta
Institutions
- Current Biology
- Chilean Antarctic Institute
- National Geographic
- British Antarctic Survey
- CNN
- International Union for Conservation of Nature
- Guardian
- Smithsonian Magazine
Locations
- Zavodovski Island
- South Sandwich Islands
- Antarctica
- South America
- Antarctic Peninsula
- Weddell Sea
- Cape Adare
- Ross Sea
- Longmont
- Colorado
- Spain
- Sardinia