Penguins in Punta Tombo
Punta
Tombo is located at 181km from Puerto Madryn and about 110km from Trelew.
It is a reservation of Magellan penguins, elegant gentlemen that make
the most of local and foreign tourists.
Thousands of penguins arrive at this Fauna Reservation every year where
you are literally allowed to walk among these elegant birds. There are
paths specially built in order not to interrupt the reproduction process
that take place in this very beautiful place.
Punta Tombo is the world’s largest colony of Magellan Penguins in the
world. Furthermore, there is no other penguin colony of this magnitude
you can walk through so easily.
You can closely watch, record, take pictures and enjoy the visit but
you must never touch or bother these funny creatures.
The local government has made important improvements in the reservation
provided the massive number of visitors and their requests for service
areas.
The reservation and its penguins
Magellan
penguins arrive each year at Punta Tombo to couple and bear their young.
Punta Tombo is a narrow and stony strip of land that penetrates some
3 ½ kilometers into the ocean; its ample beaches offer a gentle slope
where penguins can easily build their nests.
In 1979 Chubut province declared it a Fauna Reservation to protect not
only Magellan penguins colony but also all the species that share this
habitat with them.
Birds arrive each year at this area for building their nests, mating
and reproduction. Then they embark on their return voyage to the northeast
coast of South America as part of their annual migration cycle.
Visitors are thrilled to see them moving busily around, looking for
their nests or running after their chicks.
Penguins are sea birds. Although they have wings, they cannot fly: their
wings are prepared to swim. That is because these birds spend most of
their lives in the water, even sleeping in it.
Penguins are capable of swimming at a speed of 8km/h.; however, they
can surpass that speed if they jump short distances over water.
An adult penguin measures some 50cm in height and weighs about 5 kilos.
Their plumage is white in front and dark at the back with a double black
and white collar.
The strange cries of adult penguins are similar to a horse's whinny.
They are used to ward off intruders and attract their mates. On the
other hand, the chicks demand their food with a constant, whistling
chirp.
What can be see according to the time of year
.
August-September: males and females arrival, how territories
are marked off, and nests are built.
. October: brooding and hatching season, lasting between
30 and 45 days.
. November: new born and chicks care.
. December: chicks growing and an intensive activity
on the beach, while
seagulls and skuas wait their chance to pillage the nests.
. January: the chicks leave their nests, grow swimming
feathers and start learning to swim in the sea.
. February: the young molt, occupy the beaches what
make difficult for visitors to walk to the shoreline.
. From March to April: the molting season ends for
the young and starts for the adults. They start their northward migration.
. From May to August: during these months no Magellan
penguins are visible, because they are permanently feeding out at sea.
