Magellan Penguins
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.
Kathy Gursky
2000-2003©
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