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Falklands celebrate Penguin Awareness Day, January 20

Saturday, January 21st 2017 - 08:33 UTC
Full article 4 comments
As many as a million penguins nest in the Falklands every summer, representing five of the world’s species: King, Gentoo, Rockhopper, Magellanic and Macaroni. As many as a million penguins nest in the Falklands every summer, representing five of the world’s species: King, Gentoo, Rockhopper, Magellanic and Macaroni.

January 20 is Penguin Awareness Day. The day helps raise awareness about the flightless birds whose numbers are dwindling and also aims to bring international focus on the conservation of penguin habitats.

 The Falkland Islands are one of the world's great penguin capitals: as many as a million penguins nest in the Falklands every summer, representing five of the world’s seventeen species – King, Gentoo, Rockhopper, Magellanic and Macaroni. What’s more, for the Gentoo, the Falklands are home to the largest population on Earth.

Penguins are aquatic birds native to the Southern Hemisphere. Of the known species of penguins, the largest are the emperor penguins, the lead stars of the documentary, March of the Penguins. The smallest known penguin species are the little penguin found in the coastal areas of Australia and New Zealand.

It is thought that the black and white coloring of the penguins is a camouflage which helps them to hide from underwater predators. While penguins are great at diving and swimming, they cannot fly even though they are considered to be part of the bird family. They use their wings as flippers to move quickly underwater.

How to celebrate? Learn more about these majestic birds and their habitat and try to understand how human activity may be affecting them; If your local zoo has penguins, why not take a trip there to spend some time observing them? Watch movies with penguin characters and documentaries about the lives and habitats of penguins.

The Falkland Islands are globally important for their penguin populations. This is recognised internationally through designation of 22 Important Bird Areas, all of which are coastal or island sites containing breeding colonies of these attractive birds.

Top Comments

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  • Fidel_CasTroll

    Any activities planned for Warrah day?

    https://experiment.com/u/mNe09g

    The Warrah is the poster child (“poster canine”) of what happens when you trust the British. A docile and innocent creature viciously exterminated off the face of the Earth. Apparently they weren't even aggressive to humans.

    Nice job Falklanders.

    Jan 21st, 2017 - 05:13 pm 0
  • Briton

    But wasn't it two argies that were arrested for penguin abduction...lol

    Jan 21st, 2017 - 08:44 pm 0
  • Roger Lorton

    There are a number of reports about Warrahs attacking people CasTroll; but mostly they attacked sheep, which sealed their fate. Now tell me about all those ex-slaves that Argentina used as cannon-fodder. Nice job Argies.

    Jan 21st, 2017 - 10:53 pm 0
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