04:57Co-director of the Global Penguin Society Jorge Pablo Garcia Borboroglu visited local Magellan penguins communities in Punta Tombo, Monday, after the building of an unauthorised road led 146 penguin nests to be destroyed.
According to the Ministry of Tourism of Chubut, the path had been cleared by the owner of the field using a bulldozer, destroying 146 nests containing an estimated 292 chicks and eggs.
The gruesome scene was then discovered by game guards of the reserve in late November.
"When we came we found a path that is 800 meters long and ends at the sea, but on the way it crosses a colony of Magellanic penguins," said Borboroglu, explaining that construction of the road had prevented penguins from building nests in the area.
A nearby electrified wire connected to a solar panel also posed a risk to the local penguins, Borboroglu warned.
Greenpeace Argentina has denounced the event and filed a criminal complaint to the Chubut Public Prosecutor's Office. The perpetrator is set to be charged with animal abuse, although other charges may be filed after forensic canvassing work is completed.
The area is home to the largest community of Magellan penguins in the world, where parent penguins dig up holes in the ground near the ocean to nest their young ones.
The local population has declined in the past 30 years, prompting the Argentine government to classify the native species as vulnerable.
Argentina: Bulldozer, electrified fence cause destruction of 146 Magellan penguin nests
Co-director of the Global Penguin Society Jorge Pablo Garcia Borboroglu visited local Magellan penguins communities in Punta Tombo, Monday, after the building of an unauthorised road led 146 penguin nests to be destroyed.
According to the Ministry of Tourism of Chubut, the path had been cleared by the owner of the field using a bulldozer, destroying 146 nests containing an estimated 292 chicks and eggs.
The gruesome scene was then discovered by game guards of the reserve in late November.
"When we came we found a path that is 800 meters long and ends at the sea, but on the way it crosses a colony of Magellanic penguins," said Borboroglu, explaining that construction of the road had prevented penguins from building nests in the area.
A nearby electrified wire connected to a solar panel also posed a risk to the local penguins, Borboroglu warned.
Greenpeace Argentina has denounced the event and filed a criminal complaint to the Chubut Public Prosecutor's Office. The perpetrator is set to be charged with animal abuse, although other charges may be filed after forensic canvassing work is completed.
The area is home to the largest community of Magellan penguins in the world, where parent penguins dig up holes in the ground near the ocean to nest their young ones.
The local population has declined in the past 30 years, prompting the Argentine government to classify the native species as vulnerable.
Co-director of the Global Penguin Society Jorge Pablo Garcia Borboroglu visited local Magellan penguins communities in Punta Tombo, Monday, after the building of an unauthorised road led 146 penguin nests to be destroyed.
According to the Ministry of Tourism of Chubut, the path had been cleared by the owner of the field using a bulldozer, destroying 146 nests containing an estimated 292 chicks and eggs.
The gruesome scene was then discovered by game guards of the reserve in late November.
"When we came we found a path that is 800 meters long and ends at the sea, but on the way it crosses a colony of Magellanic penguins," said Borboroglu, explaining that construction of the road had prevented penguins from building nests in the area.
A nearby electrified wire connected to a solar panel also posed a risk to the local penguins, Borboroglu warned.
Greenpeace Argentina has denounced the event and filed a criminal complaint to the Chubut Public Prosecutor's Office. The perpetrator is set to be charged with animal abuse, although other charges may be filed after forensic canvassing work is completed.
The area is home to the largest community of Magellan penguins in the world, where parent penguins dig up holes in the ground near the ocean to nest their young ones.
The local population has declined in the past 30 years, prompting the Argentine government to classify the native species as vulnerable.