South African Penguins - Secrets and New Theories

Recently, two news items have sparked contemplation in the South African press.

63 Penguins Found Dead in Simons Town

Both locals and tourists enjoy visiting Simons Town to admire these quirky birds in their black-and-white attire. However, on the morning of September 17, 63 of these cherished penguins were discovered dead in the Boulders penguin colony.

According to SANParks – Table Mountain National Park, the deaths occurred between Thursday afternoon and Friday morning and are being investigated by officials, specialists, and veterinarians from SANParks, the City of Cape Town, and penguin experts (Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds, SANCCOB).

The deceased penguins were taken to SANCCOB for necropsy, where biological specimens were tested for pathogens and toxicology. No external injuries were detected.

Following necropsies, it was established that all penguins had multiple bee stings, corroborated by the numerous dead bees found at the location where the penguins perished. Preliminary investigations suggest that the penguins died due to a swarm of Cape honeybees.

Reports have also emerged regarding a dead penguin found on the beach at Fish Hoek, with a veterinarian confirming that the cause was multiple bee stings. Samples are still being tested for other toxicity possibilities.

Are Penguins from Outer Space?

In the latest conspiracy theory narratives, it has been theorized whether penguins might actually be extraterrestrial beings. This may sound like something out of a far-fetched science fiction story, but there are some plausible pieces of evidence supporting this claim.

A recent study by British researchers uncovered an astonishing substance: a chemical not native to Earth found in penguin droppings, as reported by the Daily Star.

According to Dr. Dave Clements from Imperial College in London, the phosphine finding is genuine, but they "do not know what causes it." Phosphine is present in the gases surrounding Venus, located 38 million miles away from Earth.

It prompts curiosity how this chemical ended up in the droppings of a creature on our planet.

This study was a collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency, focusing on various extraterrestrial concepts, ranging from entities potentially already on our planet to what may exist beyond. This study was associated with the James Webb Space Telescope, set to launch on December 18, 2021.

Scientists are contemplating whether, following this discovery, penguins could indeed be extraterrestrial beings, raising the question of how a chemical from Venus could find its way into the droppings of a creature on Earth.

As Clements points out, there are anaerobic bacteria that produce phosphine, which exist in pond slime and the intestines of badgers as well as in penguin guano. It perhaps presents a thought: why does no one ask if badgers are also extraterrestrials?

Thus, the phosphine, as Clements articulates, may relate to the competition against bacteria on Earth, though conspiracy theorists might dismiss this argument.

Nevertheless, penguins (alongside Elon Musk’s civil space mission) have become a lively point of discussion in space dialogues.

Perhaps their little black-and-white suits have always seemed just a tad too otherworldly. (Aren't badgers also black and white?)