There are more Emperor penguins than we previously thought. It shows in a new study where researchers from the British Antarctic Survey used satellite images to count the number of penguin colonies .
In total, the researchers found 20 percent more colonies than they previously knew of. The colonies are quite small, so the number of Emperor penguins increases by 10 percent, the researchers believe. It is still a gratifying development and means that there are now close to half a million Emperor penguins.
Counting penguins with satellite is not easy, so researchers use an indirect method. Instead of trying to see the penguins, the researchers are looking for bird droppings that are clearly visible against the white ice.
