After being on Weight Watchers for about two years, I have finally reached my goal and lost over 30 pounds! My next goal, and New Year's resolution is to get fit. In order to give myself some motivation and a goal, I signed up for the 2011 Run for the Wild at the Bronx Zoo. I thought it would be something positive to do on my birthday. So far I can only run 8 minutes at a time without having to take a break, but I hope to run, albeit slowly the whole 5k. Help me help the penguins and sponsor me! Every little bit helps. If you are in the New York area feel free to join me!
Here is why you should help:
Penguins are in trouble »
Penguins around the world are facing serious challenges: climate change, pollution, overfishing, and unregulated tourism.
Of the world’s 17 penguin species, 12 are experiencing serious population declines, with some facing extinction within the 21st century.
Warmer seas brought on by climate change are swallowing up sea ice in the western Antarctic, and with it, krill—a key penguin food that also depends on the ice—are disappearing. As a result, the Adélie penguin population in this region will likely go extinct in our lifetimes.
Their time at sea is the most dangerous in penguins’ lives. Many end up swimming through oil dumped by tankers. Oil on a penguin is akin to a hole in their feathers, and makes the birds unable to withstand icy waters. Eventually oiled penguins will starve.
Penguins are impressive »
Penguin lives are similar to our own: they work hard to make a living and take care of their families. Penguins return with their partners to the same nests year after year.
Penguins can cover more than 100 miles a day and swim up to 15 miles per hour—faster than an Olympic athlete! Some species can hold their breath for up to 23 minutes.
WCS is helping penguins »
WCS is committed to ensuring a future for penguins at some of their last best habitat, including Punta Tombo on the Chubut Coast of Argentina.
For over 25 years, WCS’s Penguin Project at Punta Tombo has painstakingly documented the Magellanic colony’s decline, a whopping 23 percent since 1987.
In 2008, WCS helped achieve two conservation gains for the Magellanic penguin in Argentina: a ban on commercial fishing at Burdwood Bank and the creation of a marine park at Golfo San Jorge—both key habitats for the birds.
In 2010, WCS helped create Argentina’s Parque Marino Isla Pingüino, or “Penguin Island Marine Park,” a 650-square-mile reserve for rockhopper penguins.
So can you »
Because of generous donations from people like you, WCS has been able to track penguins for over 25 years, and gather long-term information about the lives of penguins that guide important decisions on their future.
Your contributions will go towards educating the next generation of penguin conservationists, so that we can continue to monitor the health of the colonies at Punta Tombo and along the Argentine coast.
You’ll also be helping to purchase survey equipment for our penguin researchers as they continue to identify priority areas for safeguarding.Click here to sponsor me! http://e.wcs.org/site/TR/Events/RunfortheWildTeamraiser?px=2051542&pg=personal&fr_id=1060