We may make jokes comparing Calgary’s winter weather to the southern pole, but it’s a misconception that penguins live in the most frigid conditions on earth.
Not to say it’s balmy either though.
National Geographic Live is presenting researcher Dr. Heather Lynch at the Jack Singer Concert Hall on April 19 and 20.
“Most of our fieldwork is on the Antarctic Peninsula,” she says. “Which is actually much warmer than it would be in Calgary during the winter.”
The National Geographic Explorer and Stony Brook University professor has spent more than a decade studying the population dynamics of Antarctic wildlife, with a particular focus on penguins.
A dynamic part of her presentation at the Werklund Centre is the smell of penguin guano.
Guano is a slurry of defecation and urine left on the land surrounding penguin groups. It’s an incredible tool for science as it allows researchers to track penguin populations more accurately from space.
National Geographic Live presents Dr. Heather Lynch at the Jack Singer Concert Hall on April 19 and 20. (Werklund Centre)
This technique allows scientists to monitor nearly 1,000 penguin colonies across Antarctica, including many that have never been visited by humans, dramatically improving the ability to track population changes and conservation threats.
And as you can imagine, it stinks.
“I sent the guano off to the world’s leading scent lab… and they extracted basically a chemical recipe for how to make penguin guano smell,” Lynch says. “And then we worked with a chemist here at Stony Brook University to create what’s like a penguin guano perfume.”
She is transporting it to Calgary in a bottle that looks just like perfume, which she expects should cause no issues at airport security.
Audience members can expect more information on populations and guano research, as well as a closer look at how penguins relate to each other.
In the wild, penguins aren’t the constantly cuddly creatures people imagine. Lynch compares a penguin colony to rush hour on the New York subway.
“They’re all together,” she says, “but they’re really trying hard to stay out of each other’s space.”
Her research has even revealed that penguins recognize problem neighbours. When one bird repeatedly steals nesting stones, the response escalates until the rightful owner briefly abandons its eggs to chase the thief off.
National Geographic Live: Heather Lynch: Penguins of Antarctica is at the Jack Singer Concert Hall at the Werklund Centre on April 19 and 20. Tickets are available here.