Penguins go bald due to mystery disease - 8th Apr 2011

Something is causing young penguins in South Africa and Argentina to lose their feathers. The condition was first seen in black-footed penguins (see picture, top) in a rehabilitation centre in South Africa in 2006. The following year it was found in wild Magellanic penguins (see picture, below), living on the other side of the Atlantic in Argentina. Wild penguins in South Africa have also been affected.

It has been seen in chicks, who normally go through several moults before growing their adult plumage. In both species, chicks did not immediately replace one coat after moulting, and instead spent several weeks partially or wholly bald. If they survived, the chicks did eventually grow a new coat, but in the interim being bald put them at increased risk of exposure.

Nola Parsons of the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds in Cape Town, where the condition was first seen, says it is probably caused by an infection: there is no evidence for a parasite, malnutrition or stress. Read More