Puffins in the Wars
Skellig Michael’s iconic birds face a bleak future – despite being immortalised in The Last Jedi
THEY are about to be immortalised in the biggest movie of the year, but the future of Skellig Michael’s puffins is looking bleak because of climate change, ornithologists have warned.
The seabirds have inspired the creation of a new character in the latest Star Wars picture. The ‘porgs’ will be introduced in The Last Jedi, which opens on Thursday.
But conservationists have said that they are concerned the real-life birds could disappear from the protected Kerry isle in future years because of global warming.
Between 4,000 and 5,000 breeding pairs colonise the island from May to July every year. They choose to breed in isolated habitats which are out of the reach of predators, such as islands like Skellig Michael – home to almost one quarter of all of Ireland’s breeding pairs.
Other puffin sanctuaries include Great Saltee island in Co. Wexford, the Cliffs of Moher in Co. Clare, Horn Head in Co. Donegal, Ireland’s Eye off Dublin, and Puffin Island in Co. Kerry.
However, experts believe Skellig’s puffins could be one of the first to abandon their colonies, because of the island’s southerly position, less than 12km west of the Iveragh peninsula.
Niall Hatch, development officer at Birdwatch Ire- land, explained: ‘We would be concerned about the effect that climate change might have on the future of puffins in Ireland, particularly in Skellig Michael.
‘This is because puffins feed on small fish like sand eels and sprats, and these fish, in turn, feed on plank- ton. The concern is that plankton like cold water so, as ocean temperatures rise, the plankton will retreat further north and the fish will follow [it], and the puffins will follow the fish.
‘The Skelligs are very far south, so this would be one of the first sanctuaries where the puffins would disappear,’ he said.
Birdwatch Ireland claims the shooting of Star Wars on the island had a negative impact on the populations of other species, including the Manx shearwater and the European storm petrel.
Inspired creation of Star Wars character