# Falkland Island penguin update?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falkland-island-penguin-update/39761>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 5, 2000, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falkland-island-penguin-update/39761 "2000-11-05T01:35:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falkland-island-penguin-update/39761/1 "2000-11-05T01:35:00Z")

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We’ve all heard about Falkland Islands penguins gazing up at an airplane flying overhead until they fall over in unison, right? Snopes [declared it as **false**.](http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/penguin.htm) However, in yesterday’s Asahi Shimbun (one of the more serious newspapers in Japan) there was an article about the Royal Air Force dispatching a group of scientists to study this phenomenon and try to develop flight paths that minimize damage to the penguin population.

So did the reporter fall for an urban legend, or is there actually any truth to this story?

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**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falkland-island-penguin-update/39761/2 "2000-11-05T04:52:25Z")

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I’m afraid I don’t know, but here (in U.K.) the B.B.C. television news was covering that a day or two ago. B.B.C. should normally be quite sensible, but one never knows. Terribly sad, seeing all those fall-down penguins! But they are quite good at getting up again too - so at least it is not as though they fall over and starve to death.

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**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falkland-island-penguin-update/39761/3 "2000-11-05T04:58:47Z")

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I’m afraid I don’t know, but here (in U.K.) the B.B.C. television news was covering that a day or two ago. B.B.C. should normally be quite sensible, but one never knows. Terribly sad, seeing all those fall-down penguins! But they are quite good at getting up again too - so at least it is not as though they fall over and starve to death.

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**Author:** ![APB9999](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB9999](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB9999)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falkland-island-penguin-update/39761/4 "2000-11-05T05:10:47Z")

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According to [this ABC news article](http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/penguins001102.html), there is a team going to Antarctica to FIND OUT if the penguins tip over.

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**Author:** ![APB9999](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB9999](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB9999)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falkland-island-penguin-update/39761/5 "2000-11-05T05:11:50Z")

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Sorry, not Antarctica; South George’s Island.

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**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falkland-island-penguin-update/39761/6 "2000-11-05T05:24:37Z")

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The ABC article reads so much more sensibly than this one in the [LONDON TIMES](http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,29117,00.html)