Groundbreaking conservation research: DZS field study protects penguins in the Falkland Islands
March 24, 2025 05:46 AM
By Sarah Culton, Communications Manager, Detroit Zoological Society/Crain’s Content Studio
Credit: Detroit Zoological Society: DZS zookeepers and veterinary staff visited the islands to study wild penguin health.
The Falkland Islands are home to the largest colonies of breeding rockhopper and gentoo penguins in the world
For Dr. Ann Duncan, associate vice president of life sciences for the Detroit Zoological Society (DZS), the perfect day ends watching the sunset over the Atlantic Ocean as sea lions swim below and penguins waddle along the shore.
But this isn’t a vacation. It’s the reward after a long, grueling day of fieldwork in harsh, windy conditions — all in the name of conservation.
“I’m not one to lay on a chair reading a book,” Duncan says with a laugh. “I love being out there and making a difference.”
Duncan, along with a team that included a veterinary technician and two animal care specialists, recently traveled to the Falkland Islands, off the coast of Argentina, to conduct groundbreaking field research on wild rockhopper and gentoo penguins. Their mission: to assess the impacts of infectious disease, pollution and tourism on penguins living in the wild.
This research — the most comprehensive study of animal health and well-being in DZS history — is a crucial step in advancing the conservation of penguins everywhere. The study began in 2018 and is a collaboration with Falklands Conservation (FC), an organization dedicated to monitoring and protecting the region’s wildlife. By gathering biological samples and health data from penguin colonies living on the Islands, researchers hope to develop informed, science-based conservation strategies to safeguard seabird species.
A unique partnership
The DZS’s partnership with FC started long before this study took shape. Combining the DZS’s expertise in animal health and care with FC’s on-the-ground research, this partnership helps penguins and seabirds in the region.
From 2016 to 2018, the DZS and FC conducted expeditions to several remote islands. Using drones, they gathered population data and documented habitat conditions. Building on this success, the two organizations sought to expand their partnership. FC invited the DZS to develop a project to investigate what might be contributing to a decline in the number of penguins in the region.
The team humanely gathers blood, feather and saliva samples from the penguins.
This led to an ongoing, multi-year study and three field expeditions to the Falkland Islands, where DZS veterinary and animal care specialists joined FC researchers to collect critical health data from some of the world’s largest populations of gentoo and rockhopper penguins. It was determined that the team would travel during the penguin breeding season, as it is one of the few times penguins are routinely out of the water and able to be researched on land.
“The goal of this study is to collect data to help understand the factors that influence penguins in the Falkland Islands,” Duncan says. “Penguins and other seabirds living in polar areas are among the species most impacted by climate change, and it’s important to understand the factors that are impacting their health and viability. Studying the health of penguins helps us understand the health of the entire ecosystem.”
A special set of skills
A tiny airplane, a Range Rover and a good pair of hiking boots. These are just a few of the essential tools needed to make this study successful.
“Traveling to the Falklands isn’t easy. It’s a big effort that takes multiple days and flights,” says Lindsay Ireland, bird supervisor, who has twice traveled with the DZS to the Falklands as part of this study.
“You have to carry a lot of stuff with you; you have to go on these long, bumpy car rides over uneven terrain that you don’t know if you will get stuck in. You have to hold on very tight and hope there are no surprises in front of you.”
Though all the equipment the team brings — including a large liquid nitrogen tank to store bio samples — is useful, the biggest value the DZS team brings to this project is expertise in animal health and well-being. The study requires researchers to hold the penguins to collect blood samples, feather clippings and saliva swabs. As the DZS team is experienced in holding penguins in human care for veterinary exams and routine care, they are able to work with wild penguins quickly and efficiently to ensure no harm comes to either animal or researcher.
“We know how to care for penguins in ways that are less stressful for them,” Ireland says. “Some of the tools we use, like a field scale that a penguin dangles from, may look strange, but everything we do is to minimize the impact on the penguins. After we were done, they would go right back to their nests to feed their chicks.”
