{"id":2239,"date":"2024-07-30T19:21:14","date_gmt":"2024-07-30T19:21:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/terramar.tur.ar\/?p=2239"},"modified":"2024-08-26T18:11:11","modified_gmt":"2024-08-26T18:11:11","slug":"curiosities-about-penguins-that-you-probably-didnt-know-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/terramar.tur.ar\/en\/curiosities-about-penguins-that-you-probably-didnt-know-about\/","title":{"rendered":"Penguin fun facts you probably didn't know"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/a>Penguin facts you probably didn't know:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The closest penguin colony to Ushuaia is on Martillo Island. It is located in the Beagle Channel, 60 km from the city. It is the only place in Argentina where you can see two species of penguins: the Magellanic and the Gentoo penguins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The option we offer you is a navigation through the Beagle Channel where you will visit the colony of South American fur seals, imperial cormorants and the Les Eclaireurs lighthouse to finally reach the Martillo Island to see the penguin colony from the boat.
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Read on to find out a little more about these unique animals and, in particular, about this breeding colony:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

1. There are 17 species of penguins in the world and they are distributed exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: Argentinian and Chilean Patagonia, South Africa, New Zealand and sub-Antarctic islands, except for the species that inhabits the Galapagos Islands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Most penguins have black and white plumage to hide from prey and predators. The dark side is so that they cannot be seen from above in the water. And the white part helps them to camouflage themselves with the sun's reflection off the surface of the water when they are observed from below them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. They are monogamous, having sexual relations with only one partner throughout their lives.
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4. The wings were adapted as flippers so they cannot fly but they are very good divers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Most penguin species are pelagic birds, meaning that they are only on land to breed and change their feathers. After this period they remain for months in the open sea or they may come to the coast for very short periods of time to rest. This is the explanation why this excursion can only be done during the summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Almost all penguin species lay 2 eggs per season and the parents divide their time between nesting and going to the water to feed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Penguin<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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7. Many people are surprised that the penguins that live in Antarctica do not freeze their feet from walking on the ice. In fact, thanks to their plumage, they retain heat very well and their feet help them to regulate their temperature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. Penguins living on the White Continent are already suffering from the effects of climate change mainly due to two factors: the quality and availability of food and the alteration of nesting habitat. Increasing sea temperatures could reduce the abundance of penguin prey, which would alter the composition of the penguins' diet. In addition, climate change could affect nesting areas, as rising temperatures could lead to thawing of the ground and rainfall, creating pools of water in nesting sites. Another thing to bear in mind is that the chicks do not have waterproof plumage and could die of hypothermia as their feathers are wet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. Juvenile penguins, those born the previous season, also return to the penguin colony next summer to change their juvenile plumage to adult plumage. While they are going through this process they cannot go into the water as they do not have waterproof plumage. This can take several days, so they must have reserves to spend the days on land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Penguin<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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10. Magellanic penguins are distributed along the Atlantic coast of Patagonia, their largest colony being at Punta Tombo, Chubut. Gentoo penguins, on the other hand, are distributed in the Malvinas, Tierra del Fuego and Antarctica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11. The colony on Martillo Island is estimated to hold between 4,000 and 5,000 pairs of Magellanic penguins and remains stable. In contrast, the Gentoo penguin colony numbers only 50 pairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

12. In the colony we visited you will be able to find, on the one hand, the Gentoo penguins that make their nests in open spaces with grass, stones and guano and the Magellanic penguins on the beach, as they make their nests in caves. Did you know that every year they return to the same nest as last summer?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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13. In winter, while the Gentoo penguins remain on the island, the Magellanic penguins make large migrations across the Atlantic Ocean to the northern part of Patagonia, and in winter they migrate south again to reach Martillo Island again in October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

14. January and February are the months when a large number of penguins can be seen on Martillo Island because the chicks are starting to leave the nests but are not yet ready to go to sea and, at the same time, juveniles are changing their plumage to adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Penguin<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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15. The dangers they face on land are the red-headed skuas, carrion-eating birds that fly overhead. On the island they also suffer from the presence of the muskrat, a rodent introduced to Tierra del Fuego by man decades ago. But in the water they have to watch out for the leopard seal that often roams the island, as well as the sea lions and killer whales that often feed on penguins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Martillo Island is the only place in Argentina where you can see two species of penguins. Don't miss a visit to the penguin colony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Let us know when you are coming and we will inform you about this excursion!<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Curiosidades de los ping\u00fcinos que seguro no sab\u00edas: La colonia de ping\u00fcinos m\u00e1s cercana a Ushuaia se encuentra en la isla Martillo. Est\u00e1 ubicada en el Canal Beagle a 60 km de la ciudad. Es el \u00fanico lugar en Argentina que se puede avistar 2 especies de ping\u00fcinos: los magall\u00e1nicos y los pap\u00faa o de […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2240,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-actividades-de-verano","category-que-hacer-en-ushuaia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/terramar.tur.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/terramar.tur.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/terramar.tur.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terramar.tur.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terramar.tur.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2239"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/terramar.tur.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2319,"href":"https:\/\/terramar.tur.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2239\/revisions\/2319"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terramar.tur.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/terramar.tur.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terramar.tur.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terramar.tur.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}