Why is it so hot? I thought penguins were supposed to live in the cold - perhaps surrounded by icebergs, or at least on islands in the south with those chilly Antarctic waters. Instead, here they are standing in the dunes, amongst bushes and rocks, and in direct sunlight on a 40-degree day!
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
They're panting in the heat. So am I. This is not what I expected from a penguin colony, but it's what you'll find at Punta Tombo in Argentina. It's not as though just a couple of them got lost and ended up 1400 kilometres north of the tip of South America. Oh, no, there are more than a million penguins here! Obviously, it's not the animals who are confused, but me. I was expecting 'Happy Feet' but instead got 'Floppy Heat'.
Punta Tombo is the largest penguin colony in South America and one of the most impressive natural sites in north-eastern Patagonia. Around September each year, Magellanic penguins start arriving on shore for the breeding season after months feeding in the Atlantic Ocean. As monogamous animals, they usually return to their old nest, calling out to find their partner. The eggs begin hatching in late October and the colony gets very busy between December and February as the parents come and go from the water to get food. Then, by March or April, the chicks have moulted into their adult plumage and all the penguins leave, not to return for another six months.
As I walk through Punta Tombo in the middle of the season, it's virtually impossible to look in any direction and not see penguins. They stand at the entrance to their nests, watching you with a wary eye. They gather in groups around puddles of water. And they waddle from shrub to shrub looking a bit confused. In fact, I quite often have to be careful where I'm stepping so I don't collide with a shuffling penguin.
The numbers fluctuate each year but there are usually 200,000 to 400,000 breeding pairs of penguins. Each pair lays two eggs and both parents guard and incubate the eggs then care for the young as they grow. But in recent years, this sharing of the duties has actually started to threaten their very existence.
While one of the penguins swims out to sea to feed itself, the other takes on the domestic duties around the nest. The absent animal might be gone for a few days while it finds food and, in the meantime, its partner waits.
Climate change means the food source has moved further away, and the penguins may have to swim an extra 40 kilometres or more to feed. During this extra time away, the partner left waiting sometimes dies from starvation.
The Magellanic penguins are now listed as a threatened species. The population numbers are declining for several reasons - climate change being one of the main causes, with days of extreme heat leading to deaths from dehydration. But the species is also being affected by overfishing and other human activity in their feeding and breeding areas. Punta Tombo has been protected since 1979, which is an important part of conservation efforts. But their behaviour and environment are always changing. In fact, the first time Magellanic penguins came to breed at this site was only in 1924 - making this year the centenary of the colony!
Although humans are allowed to visit Punta Tombo, there are restrictions in place to protect the penguins. From the visitor centre, you are taken by shuttle to the colony so the authorities can regulate the numbers during busy periods. Once you're amongst the animals, there are only two paths you can follow - a shorter one that is 650 metres return, or a longer one that is 3.5 kilometres return. Some of the trail is just gravel, while there are also raised wooden sections in areas with lots of nests. As long as you stick to the path (as you are told to do), you shouldn't disturb the penguins. They're the ones likely to disturb you as they walk in your way.
If you've never heard of Punta Tombo before, you're not alone. Although it's a magnificent natural sight, it's not in a convenient location for many travellers to Argentina, being 18 hours' drive south from Buenos Aires, and about the same from the popular southern city of El Calafate. However, the busy cruise port of Puerto Madryn is about 2.5 hours away so it's a popular option for shore excursions.
If there's time, the other magnificent wildlife option from Puerto Madryn is Peninsula Valdes, a nature reserve so significant that it's listed as a World Heritage Site. Here, the coastline is inhabited by sea lions, elephant seals, and fur seals, with the calm waters providing the world's most important breeding ground for Southern right whales. Inland, amongst the dry terrain of rocks and shrubs, animals include the ostrich-like rhea, the llama-like guanaco, and a small armadillo known as a pichi.
These landscapes - especially with their arid and searing climate in summer - are perhaps not what you expect from Argentina's Patagonia region, which is usually associated with glaciers and mountains. But it's a reminder that this is one of the most ecologically diverse parts of the world - where you can find penguins from top to bottom... and millions of them, at that.
You can see more about visiting Punta Tombo on Michael Turtle's Time Travel Turtle website.
Michael Turtle
Michael Turtle is an Australian journalist who left his job in television to travel the world forever. He'll show you how to find the lesser-known places, get involved in the culture, learn the history, and meet locals along the way.
Michael Turtle is an Australian journalist who left his job in television to travel the world forever. He'll show you how to find the lesser-known places, get involved in the culture, learn the history, and meet locals along the way.
