Baffled Brazilians Rescue Wayward Penguins

Flightless birds fly home with a little help from Brazil

(NEWSER) - The wayward penguins marooned on Brazil's beaches got a one-way ticket home over the weekend, but ferrying hundreds of birds 2,000 miles is no simple feat, explains Nina Shen Rastogi in Slate. After being fed and tagged, 399 Magellanic penguins were crated and loaded aboard an Air Force plane for a journey to southern Atlantic waters, with military personnel, veterinarians, and biologists in tow. More»

Crop failures, cuts in food production projected to boost relocation

(USER SUBMITTED) - Rising temperatures due to climate change could result in mass migration from Mexico to the US, according to a study. Based on the assumption that climate projections are correct, experts estimate that up to 6.7 million Mexicans could migrate by 2080 as a result of crop failures and reduced food production. In the past, drops in agricultural production have caused Mexican farmers to migrate, but some say that economic growth is what fueled the rural exodus to urban centers, reports the Los Angeles Times . More»

Scientists scrambling for answers

(NEWSER) - Some 500 dead penguins have washed up on Brazil's beaches, and stumped scientists are searching for a reason. The birds' bellies were completely empty, indicating they starved to death. The cooler than usual temperatures off the coast could have driven away the fish and squid the penguins feed on, one expert told the BBC . Only 10 dead penguins turn up in a typical year. "What worries us this year, is the absurdly high number of penguins that have appeared dead in a short period of time," said Thiago do Nascimento of the Peruibe Aquarium. More»

China, India helped draft leaked agreement they railed against

(NEWSER) - The “Danish text”—the leaked climate change agreement that infuriated developing nations in Copenhagen and sparked accusations of bullying by rich countries—was actually drafted by a group that included China, India, and Brazil, among other countries. They had “input into the process and product” of the agreement, which seeks to impose stricter limits on developing nations’ emissions, an insider tells the Los Angeles Times . More»

(NEWSER) - Researchers have tracked the migratory paths of songbirds for the first time, using small data-gathering “backpacks,” the Washington Post reports. The avian wanderers, who are so small they cannot be tagged with transmitters, move about 3 times as a fast as previously thought. The recovered data shows that birds traveling between the US and Brazil can make up to 311 miles in a day. They're usually faster heading south, possibly in a race to get the best breeding spots. More»