Penguins I have known

One of Punta Arenas' claims to fame is being near nesting grounds for magellanic penguins. These penguins, unlike emperor penguins of movie fame, are sensible enough to go on vacation only to coastal islands off Chile and Argentina, not to some freezing cold place like the Antarctic. Having said that, the islands here are certainly cold and windy enough!! The temperature was not that bad (maybe in the 40's or even 50's), but the wind reached gusts of up to 70 mph! This makes a wind chill factor of very cold indeed. It also makes for white caps, waves, and a bouncy ferry ride to the island. Thank goodness for Bonine!
These poor penguins travel south from warmer climes up near Brazil and Peru in the southern latitude summer to nest. And to think, they pass up the great opportunity to lay over in Tahiti in order to waddle up onto a cold barren island with hellacious winds, in order to burrow into a hole, and lay 2 eggs!
They stand about a foot and a half high. The male comes ashore first and finds a nice burrow. He returns to the island on which he was born. He then starts braying, making a noise much like a donkey. The female recognizes his voice. They are monogamous and mate for life, living about 20 to 30 years. Like in the movie, they each take turns guarding the nest while the other one goes out fishing for small fish, krill, and crustaceans.
I had a chance to take a ferry to the island of Magdalena where they say "130,000 penguins greet you." There were quite a few penguins on the island but I can't verify the number of 130,000.
The number of magellanic penguins is decreasing every year. They say the animal is "almost endangered." No one is exactly sure why, but the common suspicion is global warming. While one parent is out looking for food, the other must wait for the first to return. If the first doesn't return in a timely fashion, the risk is that the second will starve. The thinking is that the penguins have to search farther and farther for food.
The penguins seemed practically oblivious to us humans. I guess they've grown accustomed to the hundred or so humans that come three times a week to walk carefully along roped paths taking photos of them.
It's fun to watch them surfing in the waves, and even funnier to watch them waddle. It's now the time of the year for them to start heading north, as the temperatures begin to drop around here. I think I'll follow their example!
Hasta luego!