Making a flap: Dancing penguins in climate appeal
NUSA DUA, Indonesia (AFP) — Braving the sultry tropical heat of Bali, two dancing penguins made an appeal to a UN conference on climate change, warning that rising temperatures were putting the majestic Antarctic birds at risk.
To the sounds of the song "Hot! Hot! Hot!," two men dressed in penguin costumes with tuxedo bowties danced as they cooled off with handfans reading, "Hotter than I should be."
The WWF conservation group held the stunt outside the hall where delegates from nearly 190 nations were debating a framework for tackling global warming after the Kyoto Protocol commitments on greenhouse-gas emissions expire in 2012.
"The talks here are complicated, but it's easy to forget what it's all about," said James Leape, director-general of WWF International.
"Ministers must commit now to sharp reductions in carbon emissions for industrialised countries to protect Antarctica and safeguard the health of the planet," he said.
The group said that Antarctica, the penguins' key breeding ground, is warming five times more quickly than the world average, with the effects felt 3,000 metres (9,850 feet) below the ocean surface.
Some colonies of emperor penguins, the largest and best known of the species, have halved over the past half-century as ice thins and overfishing kills off its food sources, the group said.
