An Auk's Drift

Part Three

AT the edge of the ice shelf there is a ship. From their high vantage point, the auk and the penguin can see human figures moving round on the ice. They can hear the roar of skidoos.

The penguin sighs. “More tourists,” he says. “Don’t get me wrong. I like being the star of the show. The perks are good…fish, Hollywood royalties, lots of exposure on the Internet. The more they know about us, the more they’ll look after us. Right? But…there’s more and more of them coming now.”

“They’ve quadrupled in the last 10 years,” the auk tells him. “In 2008 alone, 2,000 of them took helicopter flights here.”

“They’re horrible things! They terrify our youngsters.” The penguin pauses and then frowns. “Anyway, how do you know all this?”

“I’m Yoda, remember? The point is, what humans are doing here is just a small sample of what they’ve been doing to the rest of planet for decades. They’re spoiling it.”

“In what way?”

“Lots of ways. But the most important for you emperor penguins is that they’re warming the atmosphere, and the ice in Antarctica is melting.”

“Hmmm. That might explain why the record for the annual ‘Waddle to Get Supper In’ race is broken year after year. Supper’s getting closer.”

“It’s changing your home. The ice is melting in the west. Pine Island Glacier is thinning. It could destabilise the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. That’s more than two million cubic metres of ice. If that happens, you need to move east.”

“But we like where we are. It’s our natural home.”

“Humans do extinction studies now. There was one published in 2009 saying emperor penguins could be pushed to the brink of extinction by 2100 if global warming continues to affect Antarctica. The Americans are already considering putting you on the endangered species list.”

“Endangered…” the penguin repeats in disbelief.

“We were vulnerable, and so are you. Don’t believe in the Hollywood hype. You must extend your range, adapt. If you don’t you’ll find yourselves confined within the walls of zoos. Or end up like us - finished.”

The penguin looks at the humans as they ski over the ice. Then he turns to face the auk for the first time. “Thank you. I will report back. And we’ll do what we can, I promise you.”

“Good,” the auk says. “And now I must be off. According to the sneak preview I had of the script, this is the point where I dissolve into thin air.”

“Wait a minute!” the penguin says suddenly. “I don’t even know your name.”

“No,” the auk says, “and you never will.”

A moment later, the great auk dissolves into thin air.

An Ending