The poor animals have faced up with many factors that influenced their breeding season. First, the breakup of the Mertz glacier has changed the complete configuration of the sea. Second, it caused the differences in wind strength and dangerous variations in temperature. The worst was the opening of so-called polynya, area of unfrozen sea within an ice pack, in the front of colony. The climate changes have directed the destiny of these penguins since their natural food has been reduced and even removed from the original habitat. This forced parents to travel more than 120 km to seek the food for their newborn. Sometimes it took a time to find something, to get back to the young penguins, and to provide them food. Many have starved to death, waiting for parents to come back with nutrition. So many eggs have been unhatched and so many chicks died across the region known as Adelie Land. The brave parents did not manage to save their babies and to give them future. The picture of dying chicks and cold eggs is the most devastating ecological event recently.
The Marine Protected Area for the waters of East Antarctica must be approved as soon as possible because the time is running out. The catastrophe of this kind is not the first one that targeted the penguin population.
