All penguins leave Ukraine's Antarctic station after record-late migration

All penguins have departed Galindez Island, site of Ukraine's Akademik Vernadsky station, marking the longest migration ever observed there, according to the National Antarctic Scientific Center on August 12. Experts revealed that penguins left Galindez Island in the first week of May last year, but this year, biologists from the 31st expedition spotted up to 4,000 gentoo penguins on the island in mid-July, during the Antarctic winter.

The late migration is attributed to the unusually mild winter on the island. "No severe frosts occurred in the vicinity of the Vernadsky station, and the water temperature remained above freezing. The waters were not encased in a thick layer of ice, allowing penguins to access food like krill and fish," stated the National Antarctic Scientific Center.

However, by July 21-22, only a few individual penguins and pairs were left on the island. Recently, neither polar researchers nor video cameras have captured any penguins on the island as the waters around Galindez began to freeze, hindering the birds' hunting in the ocean. Biologist Oleh Horiainov explained that the penguins migrated further north to warmer regions of Antarctica, where winter feeding conditions are more favorable.

"Following the breeding season, these animals no longer adhere to the colony and roam between adjacent islands and feeding grounds in search of superior hunting conditions. Typically, they do not migrate far beyond the region and stay on islands north of Galindez along the Antarctic Peninsula," he added. As spring sets in in Antarctica, which corresponds to fall in Ukraine, the penguins will return to the Akademik Vernadsky station for the breeding season, a practice they have maintained for nearly two decades.

Penguin numbers have risen each year, reaching over 10,000 during the last breeding season on Galindez Island.