- Argentina - Portal público de noticias de la República Argentina.
Every September, over 200 thousand pairs of penguins reach the coast in order to breed and thus build the largest penguin colony in the world.
One of the most entertaining activities for tourists is to watch these birds on their site; their minute steps and their elegant bearing, their territorial fights, their courtships and the fervor with which they protect their nests.
The birds, 50-60 cms. tall and a white stripe surrounding their heads, necks, and fins, come to the narrow strip of Punta Tombo every year. As of September, this is where they mate, nest, have their offspring and change their feathers, to eventually embark on their trip toward the northeast of South America.
Tourists may watch these somewhat sullen and quite unmanageable birds as long as they wish, but ….beware of touching something ! Any small change in their habitat is jeopardizing to the penguins, who will emit bray-like sounds when they want to get rid of busy-bodies. This is why they are also called donkey-birds.
The females arrive in September. After mating, both males and females build and defend their nest, lay and hatch the eggs for 40 days. The chickens break out in November and are fed by their parents, who, to do so, need to make periodic forays into the sea.
In January, the chickens that have survived the predatory birds dare to move away from the nests and emigrate in January or March.
The clumsiness and rigidity these birds display on land disappear when they dive into the water. They are expert swimmers and in water attain speeds of up to 8 kms. an hour, using their fins to move forward and their feet as a rudder.
How to get there:
One can access Punta Tombo along provincial highway Nº 1, 200 kms. away from Puerto Madryn and 100 from Trelew. The itinerary involves a distance of 107 kms. on a gravel road that is reconditioned daily during the high season, but is hard to maneuver along on account of the loose stones. The trip takes from one and a half to two hours.
