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When the King penguin meets macroplastics: A first case reported in the Crozet archipelago, Southern Indian Ocean
Summary
Scientists found plastic pieces in the stomachs of two dead King penguins on a remote island in the Southern Ocean, one of the most untouched, human-free places on Earth. This matters because it shows plastic pollution has spread even to the planet's most isolated wildlife, likely carried by ocean currents from thousands of miles away, suggesting there's really no escaping plastic waste anymore, even for animals (and by extension, ecosystems and food sources) far from human activity.
Plastics are one of the major forms of anthropogenic pollution. This waste can affect the individual survival in many species, including seabirds. The Southern Ocean ecosystems are thought to be less affected by this pollution, due to the low human presence and the natural protective barrier provided by southern oceanic fronts. Here, we report the first observation of macroplastic ingestion in two dead King penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) in the Crozet archipelago located south of these fronts. There is no evidence that the macroplastic fragments found in their stomach were the direct cause of death. We suggest that they were ingested by being confused with stones they used for food grinding. Although it is difficult to assess the local or distant origin of these macroplastics, efforts to collect waste from sites as remote as the subantarctic islands must become standard practice to ensure that such ingestions do not become commonplace.