WASHINGTON — Seven penguin species have reason to have happy feet: The Bush administration is moving to protect them. But three other types of penguins — including the stars of recent movies — got the cold shoulder.
The Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to list six species of penguin as threatened species and one — the African penguin — as an endangered species.
But it has denied protection under the 1973 Endangered Species Act for three others — including the emperor and northern rockhopper penguins, the stars of such popular movies as “March of the Penguins” and “Happy Feet.”
The penguins live far from the U.S., so the protections of U.S. endangered species law are limited, officials said. But listing the penguins under the act will raise awareness about the species and could give the U.S. leverage in international negotiations to protect them from fishing, habitat loss, development and other threats.
