New Park Protects Penguins And Other Marine Life In Argentina

[Judi Lynn]

New Park Protects Penguins And Other Marine Life In Argentina

http://www.sciencedaily.com.nyud.net:8090/images/2009/01/090101090053.jpg

Some of the 500,000 Magellanic penguins now
under protection in the new marine park in
Golfo San Jorge in Argentina. (Credit:
Graham Harris/Wildlife Conservation Society)

ScienceDaily (Jan. 1, 2009) — The Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society has just announced that its efforts to protect a wildlife-rich coastal region in South America have paid off in the form of a new coastal marine park recently signed into law by the Government of Argentina.

The park, which became official in early December protects half a million penguins along with several species of rare seabirds and the region’s only population of South American fur seals. It is the first protected area in Argentina specifically designed to safeguard not only onshore breeding colonies but also areas of ocean where wildlife feed at sea.

The park’s creation represents a joint effort by the National Parks Service of Argentina, Government of Chubut, Wildlife Conservation Society and its local partner Fundación Patagonia Natural with support from the United Nations Development Programme and the Global Environment Facility.

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“The park protects one of the most productive and extraordinary marine ecosystems on the planet,” said Dr. Guillermo Harris, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Argentina Program. “The creation of this park comes in the nick of time for many species that are threatened by the region’s fishing and energy industries.”

More:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090101090053.htm