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Become a penguin detective

Over the last several years, penguin biologists have been working hard to find all the penguin colonies in Antarctica using satellite imagery. The sheer size of the continent means many colonies are likely still undiscovered, and this is where you can help. This short guide walks you through the basics of penguin colony detective work using Google Earth. Reading satellite imagery takes some practice, but with patience you too can join the online expedition to find all of Antarctica's penguins.

Follow these steps

  1. Get Google Earth

    Download Google Earth or Google Earth Pro. Google Earth Pro is free and has extra features you may find useful.

  2. Load the known colonies

    Download the KML files of known sites for each species and double-click a file to open it in Google Earth. They will help you identify existing colonies. The files are updated from time to time as site names or colony locations change, so check back for the latest version.

    Adélie penguin KML Chinstrap penguin KML Emperor penguin KML Gentoo penguin KML

  3. Learn what a colony looks like

    Using the KML files from step 2, explore some known colonies in Google Earth to get a feel for what a colony looks like. If you can't see a colony, try the time slider to find a clearer image. Bigger colonies are much easier to spot than smaller ones.

    From satellites we don't look for individual penguins: we look for guano stains. Look for pink or brown stains in the snow, and remember that colonies are always close to water (at most 1–3 km).

    Satellite image showing guano staining at a penguin colony
    Click to enlarge
    Second example of guano staining seen from satellite
    Click to enlarge

  4. Check your find and tell us

    Ask yourself

    1. Is it close to water?
    2. Are the stains rounded? (Straight edges suggest rock formations.)
    3. Is the image from the right time of year (November to March)?
    4. Does it already appear in the database?

    Found a site we've missed?

    Email [email protected] with:

    1. Your name and email address
    2. Latitude and longitude of the site (approximate centre)
    3. The date the image was taken (shown in Google Earth)
    4. A screenshot of the suspected guano stains