Penguins! Pinguinos!

January 25, 2009


Though the trip ended last night, Greg and I still wanted (and had the time) to see penguins. The tour took us down la Ruta J, from where we got on a boat at the Haverton Estancia to an island 15 minutes off the shore.

There was a colony, protected by a group of scientists, of Magallenes and Gentoo Penguins. The Magallanes penguins are the smaller ones, while the Gentoo are larger and have disctint orange colloring on thier beaks and feet.

We happened to be visiting just after the eggs hatched and we were able to see both the babies and the nests.

Did you know?
- Penguins, for the mostpart, are monagomous and mate with the same partner each year- unless something tragic happens the year before, such as a egg being eaten by a predator, a chick dying after birth, famine, ect. In this case the female will choose a different nest. Tunrs out the males build the nests and the females come each year to find them by smell.

- 2 eggs are produced by 1 female. One chick is usually testes for stregnth (survival of the fitess) and if there is shortage of food, the stronger chick is always cared for first.

- Penguins only spend time on land when mating and raising babies. The babies do not develop feathers capable of keeping the cold antartic water out until 3 months later.

- CHicks born the year before come back to the colony not to mate, only to loose and grow new feathers.

- Penguins are the fastest in water, and can dive up to 100 meters

- We were able to get so close to them because they can´t see well on land!