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Showing posts from October, 2019

South American update

Dear PenguinPromises The penguins have arrived back home after their winter migration to Brazil. Here in the southern hemisphere we are now into Spring, which is the time of year for the penguins to lay eggs and raise chicks. Magellanic penguins live to about 30 years of age, but do not begin breeding until they are 5 years old. That is the time when they develop the distinctive black and white lines, which distinguish the adults from juveniles that are still too young to breed. It takes 5 years for the penguins to develop strength and stamina, and to learn how to become experts at catching fish, which is very important for being a good parent. Feeding hungry chicks is very demanding and even the strongest adults loose around one quarter of their body weight during the chick-rearing process. Our penguin colony lies on the beach along the Straits of Magellan, right on the border between Chile and Argentina. When I began my studies here in 2003 the colony was only in Argentina