If anyone had told me a year ago that I would be prancing with the penguins in Patagonia today I would have laughed myself silly. Instead, I spent the morning laughing myself silly while prancing with the penguins. I do believe these guys were created just to make us laugh. It is impossible to post enough pictures for you to get the idea of how up close and personal this encounter was but I will try to narrow down a good one. Magdalena Island is 1 ½ hours across the Strait of Magellan from Punta Arenas and is a penguin preserve. They arrive near end of August or early September, the males arriving first to burrow the nest and put up the Christmas decorations and two weeks later their mates show up to make sure it’s been done right. After the honeymoon they take turns sitting on their 1 or 2 eggs, usually 8 hours each while the other fishes. The babies usually arrive in December which is why they recommend Jan/Feb as best viewing times to see the new young. They leave again in March when the days begin to shorten and the babies have all molted their baby fluff. The babies are considered mature at age 4 and the males then begin the same patterns. If a male dies the female will find a new one when she returns to the island as the males “own” the burrows. If a female dies it often takes some time before the male mates again. Their lifespan is 15-20 years unless they have an 'accident'. These are Magellanic penguins that I saw today, also called donkey or jackass penguins because of their voices which do sound remarkably like braying donkeys and when they all get talking to one another it is quite the chorus! They inhabit the entire island until the ferry brings the tourists in and they are incredibly excited and curious about seeing people. There are roped off paths for people to walk and it is strongly suggested that one stays on them but the penguins, of course, do their thing so they will walk right up to people making for great photo ops and great temptation to touch them but they have quite a bite so it’s not recommended.. There were 170,000 pairs and their offspring living happily with terns that were almost as big as they were and cormorants. There are no sea lions on their island so no natural enemies and I suspect they will just take care of overpopulation themselves when the time comes. In the meantime, it is a spectacle that I am blessed to have experienced…..seems to be the theme of this great adventure………love, Sally xoxo
If anyone had told me a year ago that I would be prancing with the penguins in Patagonia today I would have laughed myself silly. Instead, I spent the morning laughing myself silly while prancing with the penguins. I do believe these guys were created just to make us laugh. It is impossible to post enough pictures for you to get the idea of how up close and personal this encounter was but I will try to narrow down a good one. Magdalena Island is 1 ½ hours across the Strait of Magellan from Punta Arenas and is a penguin preserve. They arrive near end of August or early September, the males arriving first to burrow the nest and put up the Christmas decorations and two weeks later their mates show up to make sure it’s been done right. After the honeymoon they take turns sitting on their 1 or 2 eggs, usually 8 hours each while the other fishes. The babies usually arrive in December which is why they recommend Jan/Feb as best viewing times to see the new young. They leave again in March when the days begin to shorten and the babies have all molted their baby fluff. The babies are considered mature at age 4 and the males then begin the same patterns. If a male dies the female will find a new one when she returns to the island as the males “own” the burrows. If a female dies it often takes some time before the male mates again. Their lifespan is 15-20 years unless they have an 'accident'. These are Magellanic penguins that I saw today, also called donkey or jackass penguins because of their voices which do sound remarkably like braying donkeys and when they all get talking to one another it is quite the chorus! They inhabit the entire island until the ferry brings the tourists in and they are incredibly excited and curious about seeing people. There are roped off paths for people to walk and it is strongly suggested that one stays on them but the penguins, of course, do their thing so they will walk right up to people making for great photo ops and great temptation to touch them but they have quite a bite so it’s not recommended.. There were 170,000 pairs and their offspring living happily with terns that were almost as big as they were and cormorants. There are no sea lions on their island so no natural enemies and I suspect they will just take care of overpopulation themselves when the time comes. In the meantime, it is a spectacle that I am blessed to have experienced…..seems to be the theme of this great adventure………love, Sally xoxo
Oh Sally...that sounds like quite the adventure. The fellow you took a picture of looks like a cross between a koala bear and a penquin??
ReplyDeleteHope your cold is better!