Falklands, popular penguin colony near Stanley, could be closed due to cases of bird flu
View of Yorke Bay and human encroachment when the zone was declared mine-free in November 2020
The Falkland Islands Veterinary Department confirmed there had been “a marked increase in mortality” among penguins in Yorke Bay, as well as “signs consistent with cases of bird flu”.
As a precautionary measure, the public has been asked to increase the minimum distance they maintain from wildlife to at least ten metres.
“Strict compliance” with biosafety protocols is also promoted so that “they are fully respected”.
According to the Veterinary Department, the site is being monitored 48 hours a day, and the possibility of closing the area is being evaluated, based on the evolution of monitoring and a comprehensive assessment of the risks generated by the situation.
Yorke Bay is a beach close to the capital Stanley, and a major attraction for locals and tourists due to the penguin colonies that live there.
The problem is that Yorke Bay beach has always been a park and relaxation area for residents of the capital, but during the Argentine invasion and occupation it was intensively mined, as a possible landing site for British troops. That’s why it was delimited and closed, and remained that way for around forty years until it was demined by the British.
But the detail is that in these several decades and isolated from human interference, many penguins began to settle down and make it their habitat and form nests.
Now, of course, it is a place of pilgrimage for tourists, locals and pets, with consequent health risks and disruption to penguin colonies, and it is greatly feared that, given so much movement, the penguins will at some point say “enough” and break camp.
Hence the importance and significance of the bird flu outbreaks in Yorke Bay.
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