Traveling to Antarctica in November- March means being able to experience penguins being cute, hilariously comic and noble at the same time.
Gentoos are one of the most laid back. They do have their noisy moments, particularly at nest building but nowhere near as aggressive and raucous as Adelies and Chinstraps.
Their estimated world population is about 387,000 breeding pairs. Colonies tend to be much smaller than other similar penguins, the largest has around 6,000 breeding pairs.
They’re mostly distributed in circumpolar areas. They’re usually seen in three locations: Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula. The last 25 years have seen significant changes in population sizes in particular locations either growth or decline, overall the population is becoming somewhat more southerly.
As the chicks get bigger they beg for food and It is in the adults interest to only feed their own chicks, so there is often a chase in and out the colony with much calling to each other while the adult establishes that this really is their chick.
Gentoo penguins are the last to arrive on their nesting sites at the southern limits of their range. Unlike other species that nest alongside them nearer to the Antarctic mainland, they wait until the sea ice has retreated before heading for the nesting grounds.
Pictures by @AntarcticaTravels
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