The popularity, plight and poop of penguins - Dyan deNapoli
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0:11 - 0:12Penguins have long captured
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0:12 - 0:14the imagination and the hearts
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0:14 - 0:16of people the world over.
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0:16 - 0:18But while popular culture
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0:18 - 0:20depicts them as clumsy, adorable birds
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0:20 - 0:23with endlessly abundant populations,
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0:23 - 0:26the truth is that penguins are exceedingly graceful,
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0:26 - 0:27often ornery,
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0:27 - 0:30and their populations are in rapid free-fall.
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0:30 - 0:33Their real life situation is far more precarious
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0:33 - 0:34than people think.
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0:34 - 0:36And if current trends do not change,
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0:36 - 0:38it may not be long
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0:38 - 0:41before penguins can only be found in movies.
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0:41 - 0:43There are many things about penguins
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0:43 - 0:45that make them odd birds, so to speak.
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0:45 - 0:46For one thing,
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0:46 - 0:49they are one of the few bird species that cannot fly,
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0:49 - 0:52having evolved from flight-capable birds
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0:52 - 0:54about 60 million years ago.
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0:54 - 0:56Surprisingly, their closest living relative
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0:56 - 0:58is the albatross,
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0:58 - 1:00a bird known for its enormous wingspan
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1:00 - 1:03and extraordinary soaring abilities.
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1:03 - 1:04It may seem strange
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1:04 - 1:06that losing the ability to fly
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1:06 - 1:08would be an evolutionary advantage,
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1:08 - 1:11but the penguin's short, flipper-like wings
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1:11 - 1:12and solid bones
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1:12 - 1:15allow them to swim faster and dive deeper
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1:15 - 1:17than any other bird on Earth,
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1:17 - 1:21filling an ecological niche that no other bird can.
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1:21 - 1:23Penguins inhabit the southern hemisphere,
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1:23 - 1:25being one of the few bird species
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1:25 - 1:27able to breed in the coldest environments.
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1:27 - 1:30But contrary to popular belief,
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1:30 - 1:32they are not restricted to cold regions
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1:32 - 1:35nor are there any at the North Pole.
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1:35 - 1:38In fact, only 4 of the 18 penguin species
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1:38 - 1:41regularly live and breed in Antarctica.
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1:41 - 1:43Most penguins live in sub-temperate
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1:43 - 1:44to temperate regions.
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1:44 - 1:47And the Galapagos penguin even lives and breeds
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1:47 - 1:48right near the equator
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1:48 - 1:50of the coast of South America.
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1:50 - 1:53They are also found in South Africa,
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1:53 - 1:54Namibia,
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1:54 - 1:54Australia,
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1:54 - 1:55and New Zealand,
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1:55 - 1:57as well as on a number of islands
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1:57 - 1:58in the southern Atlantic,
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1:58 - 1:59Pacific,
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1:59 - 2:00Indian,
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2:00 - 2:02and Antarctic Oceans.
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2:02 - 2:06Although penguins spend 75% of their lives at sea,
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2:06 - 2:08they must come to shore every year
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2:08 - 2:10to reproduce and to molt their feathers.
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2:10 - 2:13They do this in a variety of places,
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2:13 - 2:15from the temporary ice sheets of the Antarctic
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2:15 - 2:18to the beaches of South Africa and Namibia,
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2:18 - 2:21to the rocky shores of sub-Antarctic islands,
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2:21 - 2:24to the craggy lava surfaces in the Galapagos.
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2:24 - 2:25Different penguin species
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2:25 - 2:28have different nesting practices.
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2:28 - 2:31Some dig burrows into dirt, sand, or dried guano;
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2:31 - 2:33some nest in tussock grasses;
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2:33 - 2:36some build nests out of small rocks, sticks, and bones;
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2:36 - 2:39while others don't build any nests at all.
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2:39 - 2:41Although most penguins lay a clutch of two eggs,
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2:41 - 2:43the two largest species,
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2:43 - 2:44the king and the emperor,
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2:44 - 2:46lay a single egg
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2:46 - 2:48that they incubate on top of their feet
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2:48 - 2:50for approximately two months.
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2:50 - 2:54Unfortunately, 15 of the 18 penguin species
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2:54 - 2:56are currently listed as threatened,
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2:56 - 2:57near-threatened,
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2:57 - 2:58or endangered
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2:58 - 3:02by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
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3:02 - 3:03In the last several decades,
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3:03 - 3:05we have see the world populations
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3:05 - 3:07of most penguin species decline
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3:07 - 3:09by up to 90%,
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3:09 - 3:10with two of them,
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3:10 - 3:12the yellow-eyed and Galapagos penguins,
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3:12 - 3:16down to just a few thousand birds.
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3:16 - 3:18Penguins are an indicator species,
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3:18 - 3:21the proverbial "canary in the coal mine."
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3:21 - 3:24Simply put, if penguins are dying,
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3:24 - 3:26it means our oceans are dying.
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3:26 - 3:29And sadly, most of this decline is attributable
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3:29 - 3:31to human activities.
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3:32 - 3:33Historically, penguins have had to deal
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3:33 - 3:36with multiple disturbances.
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3:36 - 3:37The mass collection of penguin eggs
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3:37 - 3:38and the harvesting
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3:38 - 3:40of the seabird guano they nested in
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3:40 - 3:42caused the dramatic decline
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3:42 - 3:44of several penguin species.
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3:44 - 3:45If you're wondering
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3:45 - 3:46what humans would want with seabird poop,
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3:46 - 3:48it was used as an ingredient
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3:48 - 3:50in fertilizer and in gun powder,
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3:50 - 3:51being so valuable
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3:51 - 3:53that in the 19th century,
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3:53 - 3:55it was known as white gold.
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3:55 - 3:58Current threats to penguins include the destruction
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3:58 - 4:00of both marine and terrestrial habitats,
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4:00 - 4:02introduced predators,
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4:02 - 4:04entrapment and fishing nets,
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4:04 - 4:07and pollution from plastics and chemicals.
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4:07 - 4:10There have also been several large-scale oil spills
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4:10 - 4:12over the past 50 years
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4:12 - 4:13that have killed or impacted
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4:13 - 4:17tens of thousands of penguins around the world.
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4:18 - 4:20But the two major threats to penguins today
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4:20 - 4:21are global warming
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4:21 - 4:24and over-fishing.
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4:24 - 4:27Global warming impacts penguins in multiple ways,
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4:27 - 4:29from interrupting the production of krill
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4:29 - 4:32due to decreased sea ice formation in the Antarctic,
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4:32 - 4:33to increasing the frequency
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4:33 - 4:34and severity of storms
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4:34 - 4:36that destroy nests,
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4:36 - 4:37to shifting the cold water currents
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4:37 - 4:40carrying the penguins' prey too far away
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4:40 - 4:43from penguin breeding and foraging grounds.
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4:43 - 4:44Even though humans
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4:44 - 4:47may be the greatest threat to penguins,
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4:47 - 4:49we are also their greatest hope.
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4:49 - 4:51Many research and conservation projects
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4:51 - 4:54are underway to protect penguin habitats
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4:54 - 4:57and restore vulnerable populations.
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4:57 - 4:58With a little help from us
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4:58 - 5:00and some changes in the practices
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5:00 - 5:02that impact our planet and oceans,
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5:02 - 5:05there is hope that our tuxedo-clad friends
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5:05 - 5:08will still be around in the next century.
- Title:
- The popularity, plight and poop of penguins - Dyan deNapoli
- Description:
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View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-popularity-plight-and-poop-of-penguins-dyan-denapoli
Penguins are odd birds. For one, they cannot fly (but they are amazing swimmers), and, contrary to popular belief, the majority of penguin populations live in warmer waters. But these beloved birds are in danger, with populations declining up to 90%. Dyan deNapoli explains the reasons behind the decline -- and why penguins are like the proverbial canary in the coal mine of our oceans.
Lesson by Dyan deNapoli, animation by Zedem Media.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 05:24
Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for The popularity, plight and poop of penguins - Dyan deNapoli | ||
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Jessica Ruby accepted English subtitles for The popularity, plight and poop of penguins - Dyan deNapoli | ||
Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for The popularity, plight and poop of penguins - Dyan deNapoli | ||
Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for The popularity, plight and poop of penguins - Dyan deNapoli | ||
Andrea McDonough edited English subtitles for The popularity, plight and poop of penguins - Dyan deNapoli | ||
Andrea McDonough edited English subtitles for The popularity, plight and poop of penguins - Dyan deNapoli |