Study says African penguins starved en masse off South Africa

Endangered penguins living off South Africa's coast have likely starved en masse due to food shortages, a study said Friday, with some populations dropping by 95 percent in just eight years.

The biologistsaid, in those eight years, sardine populations in South African waters -- a main food source for penguins -- were consistently below 25 percent of their peak abundance. This drop in sardine stocks was due to fishing practices combined with environmental causes such as changes in water temperatures and salinity.