It’s official: penguins don’t fall over backwards when aircraft fly overhead.
British pilots came back from the 1982 Falklands War with stories about penguins
toppling over. Concerned that increasing air traffic might endanger wildlife, a
team led by Richard Stone of the British Antarctic Survey has just spent five
weeks watching a thousand king penguins on the island of South Georgia. After
numerous overflights by two Royal Navy Lynx helicopters, “not one king penguin
fell over”, Stone told Reuters.
To continue reading, today with our introductory offers
Advertisement
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles
1
There has been a sudden increase in the rate of sea level rise
2
Man destined for Alzheimer's may have been saved by accidental therapy
3
PCOS postpones perimenopause and allows pregnancies at older ages
4
Woman in cancer remission without treatment in highly unusual case
5
The mathematician who doesn’t exist
6
A lost ancient script reveals how writing as we know it really began
7
Fire is spreading in the Chernobyl exclusion zone after drone crash
8
Red-light therapy does have health benefits but not the ones you think
9
We have figured out a new way to send messages into the past
10
Hantavirus outbreak will not cause a covid-style pandemic, says WHO



