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After the babies leave for the high seas, the adults begin their annual molting. The adults do not eat during the molting process and they are not very active. I'm not sure if the molting requires a lot of energy or if they're just recuperating from the raising of the children! I was in the colony during the molting, and it was quite a scene. The ground was blanketed with feathers and the penguins were in various stages of loosing their feathers. They were not at all afraid of us. Ropes set boundaries for human travelers to the colony, but the penguins were not bound by the ropes. Many borrows were on the edge of the foot path and I was literally at their feet as I walked by.
Their new coat of feathers enable them to follow the fish in the high seas for 6 months. They leave Seno Otway by the first of April and they don't return until September. The cycle begins again.
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