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Penguin Memes Take Flight after Trump Tariffs Remote Island

A waddle of King penguins, some of the only inhabitants of the Australian territory of Heard Island -- which is among those targeted by US President Donald Trump's tariffs. Matt CURNOCK / AUSTRALIAN ANTARCTIC DIVISION/AFP
A waddle of King penguins, some of the only inhabitants of the Australian territory of Heard Island -- which is among those targeted by US President Donald Trump's tariffs. Matt CURNOCK / AUSTRALIAN ANTARCTIC DIVISION/AFP
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Penguin Memes Take Flight after Trump Tariffs Remote Island

A waddle of King penguins, some of the only inhabitants of the Australian territory of Heard Island -- which is among those targeted by US President Donald Trump's tariffs. Matt CURNOCK / AUSTRALIAN ANTARCTIC DIVISION/AFP
A waddle of King penguins, some of the only inhabitants of the Australian territory of Heard Island -- which is among those targeted by US President Donald Trump's tariffs. Matt CURNOCK / AUSTRALIAN ANTARCTIC DIVISION/AFP

Donald Trump's tariffs have become a black and white issue on social media, where penguin memes have gone viral after he targeted an island inhabited by the flightless birds, but no people.

One widely shared image on Thursday showed a penguin in place of Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office during his recent row with the US president and Vice President JD Vance.

Another meme showed US First Lady Melania Trump gazing up at an emperor penguin -- in place of former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau -- while Trump looks askance.

Trump's announcement of worldwide tariffs on Wednesday certainly received an icy reception in many countries.

But there has also been bafflement about why some of the most remote parts of the world have been targeted.

A case in point: why would Trump slap 10 percent tariffs on all exports from the Heard and McDonald Islands, a barren sub-Antarctic Australian territory without a human population, but four different species of penguin?

"The penguins have been ripping us off for years," Anthony Scaramucci, who was Trump's former communications chief for 11 days in his first term and is now a vocal critic, joked on X.

"Donald Trump slapped tariffs on penguins and not on Putin," posted US Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, referring to the fact that Russia was not on the US tariff list.

The White House said sanctions on Russia over President Vladimir Putin's war on meant that there was no "meaningful" trade on which to impose tariffs.

Trump also caused puzzlement with his 29 percent tariff on Norfolk Island, a tiny Australian territory in the Pacific with a population of a little over 2,000 humans.

"I'm not quite sure that Norfolk Island, with respect to it, is a trade competitor with the giant economy of the United States," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

Britain's remote Falkland Islands -- home to one million penguins, and most famous for a 1982 war fought by Britain to repel Argentinian invaders -- was hit by 41 percent exports even though the UK only faces 10 percent.

Trump's tariffs have however been no laughing matter for global markets, with US stocks suffering their worst day since the Covid pandemic in 2020.

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Varieties

Ethiopia's Vast Lake Being Pumped Dry

Lake Dembel's depth has halved since 1990 due to over-pumping. Marco Simoncelli / AFP
Lake Dembel's depth has halved since 1990 due to over-pumping. Marco Simoncelli / AFP
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Ethiopia's Vast Lake Being Pumped Dry

Lake Dembel's depth has halved since 1990 due to over-pumping. Marco Simoncelli / AFP
Lake Dembel's depth has halved since 1990 due to over-pumping. Marco Simoncelli / AFP

There is a constant hum around Ethiopia's enormous Lake Dembel -- the sound of its water steadily being sucked out by pumps.

The pumps irrigate farms all around the lake, which is four times the size of Manhattan, and are vital for hundreds of thousands of people, AFP said.

Ethiopia has already lost at least one large lake -- Haramaya, in the east of the country -- to over-pumping.

Now it risks losing another.

Lake Dembel's depth has halved since 1990 from four meters to two (13 feet to over six), according to Wetlands International, an NGO.

"If things continue like this, the lake could disappear," said its project manager Desalegn Regassa.

Pumping by farmers and industry is not the lake's only problem. Heavy pesticide use is also killing its fish, locals and the NGO say.

Belachew Derib has been fishing the lake since the 1980s but says stocks are disappearing.

"I built my house thanks to the income from fishing and support my three children through this work," Belachew, 60, told AFP as he rowed his small boat out to pull up his nets.

"Previously, we could catch 20 to 30 fish a day. Nowadays, young fishermen are lucky to catch two or three," he said.

Just a few dozen meters (yards) from the shore, AFP found Habib Bobasso, 35, liberally covering his small onion plot with pesticides from a pump strapped to his back.

"There are many worms that can damage the plants... we could lose the entire harvest," he said as he sprayed, with just a shawl to cover his face.

He knows the pesticides are harmful but sees no alternative.

"The fertilizers and pesticides we use degrade the soil. We spend too much money on fertilizers and chemicals for a low yield," he said.

Degradation

Water management is essential for Ethiopia, a land-locked giant in east Africa with a rapidly growing population already estimated at more than 130 million and often hit by droughts.

But a lack of funds and government oversight has allowed bad practices to continue for decades.

A recent report by the Stockholm International Water Institute blamed Ethiopia's "lackluster policy frameworks" for "the demise of Lake Haramaya, the shrinking of Lake Abijata (and) the pollution of Awash River and Ziway and Hawassa Lakes."

Lately, the government has shown signs it is taking the problem seriously.

It passed a law earlier this year imposing a fee to extract water from Lake Dembel, which lies around 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of the capital Addis Ababa.

A local official, Andualem Gezahegne, told AFP he hoped this would curtail the pumps.

It cannot come too soon -- Wetlands International said there were some 6,000 pumps installed around the lake last year, running 24 hours a day, and "maybe more today".

AFP witnessed two huge tanker trucks filling up for a nearby highway project during a recent visit.

Keeping fishing under control is another challenge, said Andualem.

"Unfortunately, the peak fishing activity coincides with the fish spawning periods, from January to May," he said.

On the surface, the lake is still full of life -- from hippos to marabou storks.

But as the fishermen head out at dawn, the steady hum of the pumps strikes an ominous note for the future.