One last day with thousands of penguins, no exaggeration! We took a bumpy bus ride to Punta Tombo which is a protected area for penguins in Argentina. It is hard to see just how many there were but trust me there were a lot.
Penguins are monogamaus and return to the place they were born each year to lay their eggs and raise their chicks. They usually lay two eggs about a week apart. The biggest, oldest chick is given the most food. The younger chick is just an insurance policy! Sometimes there is enough food for both but sometimes, well Mother Nature can be cruel. Both of these guys look healthy.
The chicks have downey feathers so they don't swim
The parents feed the chicks for couple of months but when those downy feathers are gone so is the free food! The parents just leave them and the new adult chicks figure out how to get to the ocean and swim and fish. This fellow looks like he is about ready to be independent. I like his punk penguin look!
Here is a Mom, or maybe a Dad, feeding one of the chicks. Cute how she holds him in place with her wing!
These three babies just wouldn't leave Mom alone. She kept trying to get away from them but they kept following her everywhere. Guess they were hungry and waiting for the other parent to return with a belly full of fish!
Loved this family picture!
But this one reminded me more of our attempts at a family picture when the kids were little. Some squawking, Mom exasperated and only one looking at the camera! (that would have been Mary)
This is as close as one got to me. You are not supposed to approach them, but they can approach you. They are wary but curious.
Definitely a day I'll remember for the rest of my life!
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