Massive iceberg kills 150,000 penguins in Antarctica

A 1,100 square-mile iceberg in Antarctica has killed more than 150,000 Adelie penguins after becoming grounded near their colony and trapping the flightless birds.

The penguins on Cape Denison were trapped when the iceberg the size of Rome, dubbed B09B, grounded itself in 2010 and cut them off from their ocean food supply.

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According to The Guardian, they have to make a 60km detour to the sea for food. The journey has affected the size of their colony and disrupted the birds' breeding cycles.

By 2013, there were only 10,000 of the penguins left.

Scientists say that unless the sea ice breaks up or the iceberg is dislodged, the colony will be wiped out in 20 years.

Chris Turney, a climate change professor with the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, told the Sydney Morning Herald: "It's eerily silent now. The ones that we saw at Cape Denison were incredibly docile, lethargic, almost unaware of your existence.

"The ones that are surviving are clearly struggling. They can barely survive themselves, let alone hatch the next generation. We saw lots of dead birds on the ground... it's just heartbreaking to see."

He added: "They don't migrate. They're stuck there. They're dying."