Active Mount Curry Volcano May Wipe Out The Large Penguin Colony

Mount Curry, also known Mt.Asphyxia, is stratovolcano located on Zavodovski Island at the northernmost end of the South Sandwich Islands. It is currently active and has been spewing smoke and ashes since March 2016. This may seriously harm one of the largest chinstrap penguin colonies, which lives on the island.

About 1.2 million breeding pairs of chinstrap penguins live in the Zavodovski Island. It is also a home of about 180,000 macaroni penguins. The penguins usually occupy the island from November to April in the rocky and volcanic slopes as their breeding grounds. The eruption might coincide with the penguins' annual molt. This will make the penguins in danger and unable to swim and enter the water, according to National Geographic.

The penguins are molting and they shed their old feather for new. This means they cannot leave the island to find safety. This concerned most of the conservationist and may jeopardize the welfare of the penguins on the said island.

Mike Dunn, a penguin ecologist from BAS said that as the images were captured during the molt period for the chinstraps, the consequences could be very significant. He further said that when the penguins return to breed later in the year, it will be interesting to see what impact this event on their numbers. The BAS is preparing an expedition later in the year to check on how the ash has affected the colon as reported by Telegraph.

Dr. Peter Fretwell, a geographer from BAS who was involved in the remapping of the archipelago explained that they don't know what impact the ash will have on the penguins. He further explained that if it has been heavy and widespread it may have a serious effect on the population.

Mount Curry on Zavodovski Island started to erupt in March 2016. It grew more active following a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in June. Likewise, the Mount Sourabaya on Bristol Island to the south is currently erupting as seen in the satellite imagery.