April 25, marks World Penguin Day, an opportunity for many wildlife organizations to tout conservation efforts for these charismatic, amphibious birds. It’s nearly winter in the southern hemisphere, and April 25 coincides with Antarctic penguins’ annual northward march to the sea.
STANLEY, Falkland Islands – The Falkland Islands have become a paradise for wildlife enthusiasts. Decades of good management and conversation policies have helped the different species to advance under this shield. One of those, emblematic, and identified to the image and spirit of the Falklands are penguins. Although not included in the Islands' crest they are virtually everywhere, souvenirs, stamps, badges, pictures, T shirts, and particularly in Volunteer Point, relatively close to Stanley, where the majestic King penguins enjoy a growing rookery, shared with their Gentoo and Magellanic cousins.
Waddling up the beach in single file, their heads held high with an almost self-important demeanor, king penguins are a major draw in the Falkland Islands' tourism industry. Their fluffy brown chicks are nearly fearless of humans, meaning tourists at Volunteer Point, a peninsula on East Falkland Island might get almost close enough to touch one.
On 9 January, The New York Times published a multimedia report with a list of 52 Places to visit in the world. In position 23 figures the Falkland Islands with the following description, emphasizing, five kinds of penguins easier to reach. The report is credited to Nell McShane Wulfhart.
Perhaps fittingly the King Penguin was chosen as number one in the Falkland Islands Tourist Board’s (FITB) 7 Wonders of the Falklands survey. Over the last three months FITB has asked past and present visitors to the Islands, as well as residents, what they would consider to be their seven wonders.
Tony Mason, Chief Executive Officer of the Falkland Islands Tourist and H.E. The Governor of the Falkland Islands, Mr. Colin Roberts, presented the 2015 tourism awards on 1st April 2015. It was also a successful finale for CEO Mason who now has an even more ambitious task with the Falkland Islands Tourist Board in the United Kingdom.
Falkland Islanders replied with a picture of King penguins to Argentine President Cristina Fernandez claims that the Falklands had become NATO's largest base in the South Atlantic and was equipped with missiles that could reach any of the region's countries, and also had nuclear weapons.
The Falkland Islands Tourist Board (FITB) will be hosting some of the UK’s top bird watchers at the end of this month, on a trip led by Tim Appleton, cofounder and organiser of the prestigious British Birdwatching Fair.