Mass global animal die-offs sparking extinction fears

January 22, 2011 -  New Zealand – “Little penguins are dying in their hundreds, leading conservationists to fear they are starving as a result of the La Niña weather system. Other seabirds are washing up dead on beaches, raising concerns that species could become extinct if climate change causes extreme weather events to become more frequent. At Wellington Zoo, two starving little blue penguin chicks have been brought in this week. One died on Wednesday and the other, found at Lyall Bay, was hanging on to life yesterday. The zoo’s veterinary science manager, Lisa Argilla, said petrels were also starving around Wellington’s south coast, and five shags had been brought in this month. “They’re unable to find enough food. We’ve had a lot of starvations and a lot of mortalities.” At Banks Peninsula, hundreds of little white-flippered penguin chicks have died of starvation, according to Shireen Helps, who has been caring for the colony on her property for about 25 years. “There were chicks dying in their burrows, in the hillside, and heaps dying on the water.” Dr Argilla said the calm La Niña seas meant fewer small fish and plankton close to the surface of the water for them to feed on. Those brought into the zoo were likely to be just a very small portion of those dying. She was concerned that more frequent extreme weather events could lead to extinctions in some species – penguins, for example, needed five or six years of good conditions for populations to regenerate. The strong La Niña had brought with it conditions that made for a bad breeding year. “They’re natural occurrences that always happen, but now they’re happening more regularly and it’s playing havoc with wildlife populations.” -Stuff.NZ

This year’s La Niña is the strongest ever detected in recorded history. I warned in my book this day was coming. The protocol is underway…