Question Sheet: Penguin Pressure

SCIENCE

Before reading:

1. Penguins are what type of animal?
2. Where do they live?
3. Are there many types or do they all belong to one species?
4. How many are eaten by polar bears each year (Hint: Where do polar bears

   live)?

During reading:

1. How did Dee Boersma fight to save penguins from a boardwalk?
2. What are the two main threats to penguins?
3. How can global warming affect penguins?
4. Where does the biggest population of penguins live?
5. What are the food sources for Punta Tombo penguins, and what’s happening to

   those foods?

6. How have the penguins adapted to the changes in their food supplies?
7. How much time do penguins spend at sea?
8. What can scientists learn from the tracking devices they’re attaching to

   penguins?

After Reading

1. Why do we care about penguins?
2. What can we learn about our environment by studying penguins?
3. What role do people play in putting pressure on penguins?
4. What role can people play in saving penguins threatened with extinction?

SOCIAL STUDIES

1. In the beginning of the story, biologist Dee Boersma actually sabotaged a

   government project in the country she was visiting. Do you think she was

   justified in this act of civil disobedience? Explain why or why not. What other

   ways might she have tried to achieve the same goals? Do you think they would

   have been as successful?

2. Penguins tend to live far away from people (with the exception of the

   Magellanic penguins in Argentina). It costs large sums of money to study them

   and, ultimately, to protect them. When money is tight, as it is today, do you

   think we should still use money to study penguins and other features of the

   environment so far from most humanity? Explain your answer. (Hint: There is no

   right or wrong answer as long as you think it through and give a reasoned

   response.)

3. As climate change forces penguins to move farther from their ancestral

   beaches — and to beaches where people have already settled — conflicts will

   inevitably develop over who has rights to the territory. If you were a local

   government official and had to choose between protecting space for endangered

   penguins or letting the animals fend for themselves, which policy would you

   advocate? Why? If you were a homeowner who used a nearby beach that penguins

   were now roosting at, would you accept temporarily or permanent closures of that

   beach to humans so that the birds would be protected? Why?

4. Penguins are very cute and as such become popular attractions at zoos. Do

   you think penguin exhibits at zoos are a good teaching tool? Why or why not? If

   the only alternative was to see them in the wild, on television or in books, how

   would your appreciation for these birds likely change?

LANGUAGE ARTS

1. Write a short poem about the way humans have been altering the penguins’

   world.

2. Imagine that Dee Boersma has room for one student to accompany her for three

   weeks next year to study Magellanic penguins. She’ll select the student who

   explains best why she or he should go, what he or she wants to learn and how she

   or he will later share the insights picked up on the trip with other people.

   Write a letter suggesting why you would be the best candidate.

3. In the first scene described in the story, Dr. Boersma was an activist,

   someone looking to stand in the way of even legal activities to save the

   penguins she studies. Prepare for a debate in class, coming up with at least

   four persuasive arguments why the actions she took were right, and at least four

   more on why they were wrong. Prepare to be able to argue either side, not just

   the one you might agree with.