What killed 500-plus penguins? How scientists solved the mystery

The penguins that perished lived on the Danger Islands in Antarctica. The prime suspect was avian flu. Researchers were surprised by what they found.

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5472x3648+0+0/resize/5472x3648!/quality/85/format/webp/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F63%2F04%2Fc5dc45604e3b8d741917e4b6b3ec%2Fadelie-penguins-c-ralph-vanstreels-uc-davis-12.jpg' alt='A small group of Adélie penguins return to their colony. A mega-colony of these penguins was hit by a big die-off in early 2024.'/><p>The penguins that perished lived on the Danger Islands in Antarctica. The prime suspect was avian flu. Researchers were surprised by what they found.</p><p>(Image credit: Ralph Vanstreels)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=nx-s1-6020451' />