Hooked on Penguins
“...Since embarking on my penguin quest years ago, I have witnessed 4 species in the wild...I have seen little blue, or fairy penguins in Australia & New Zealand; Humboldt penguins in Patagonia; & African penguins in Nambia...
...The Falkland Islands has 5 species & more than a million penguins, including the world’s largest breeding population of gentoos & nearly 40% of the world’s southern rockhopper population. The birds inhabit beaches, craggy cliffs, heathland & coastal grasslands, all within reasonable reach
...The penguin breeding season coincides with the tourist invasion. Both occur during the Southern hemisphere’s late spring & summer months...During this period, the archipelago transforms into a giant maternity ward...
The adults lay & incubate their eggs. Chicks hatch. The weeks-old fledglings gather in protective creches while their parents forage for food in the ocean. The youngsters wait for dinner, vocalizing their hunger & impatience- loudly.
2 species-gentoo & king- inhabit the Falklands year-round.
The southern rockhopper, Magellanic & macaroni are seasonal guests. When the weather starts to cool, they depart for waters up the South American coast & around South Georgia Island & Antarctica. But even in the off-season, penguins outnumber the humans...
The Falklands’ largest colony of king penguins-about 1,000 adults & 500 chicks- resides at Volunteer Point, a toe of land 3 hours from Stanley...
Kings, the second-largest penguin after the emperor, are indeed stunning. They are statuesque & look haute couture in velvety black hoods splashed with citrus colors...At 3 feet tall...& weighing 35 lbs., they are the size of a 3 yr. old...
Of the 5 species, the macaroni is the most elusive. It doesn’t even appear on a local map highlighting wildlife-viewing sites. According to Falklands Conservation, about 2 dozen breeding pairs nest among the rockhoppers, which look like macaroni’s runtier twin. both are crested penguins with plumes that spring from their heads like streamers. Experts differentiate the 2 by location & color of the feathers & the size & hue of the beak. Macaronis are also huskier & have a unibrow....”
Andrea Sachs
Washington Post
in The Gazette, Montreal
Oct. 1/2016
Cute Critter Christmas Pics
Weekly Chuckles
Merry Christmas To All!
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