Penguins Harmed By Tagging

If you've seen Inuit Knowledge and Climate Change, you'll know that Elders in Nunavut believe that the handling and tagging of animals, specifically polar bears and whales, causes adverse health and behaviour issues.

Interestingly, a new study published in the prestigious science journal Nature indicates the tagging of penguins as a way to study climate change has been found to adversely effect these animals. This was recently reported in a New York Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/18/science/18obpenguin.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=penguins%20&st=cse

The study indicates that flipper banded penguins produced 39% fewer chicks and have survival rate 16% lower than non-banded birds. In short, the researchers concluded that all data used to support climate change collected using flipper banding "should be reconsidered". Obviously, the practice of tagging animals in this way is also being questioned, a discussion similar to what the Elders have started regarding polar bears and other Arctic animals.