Latest news with #Chinstrap
NDTV
25-04-2025
- NDTV
8 Incredible Places To See Penguins In The Wild
Let's be honest — penguins are the real rockstars of the animal kingdom. They've got the looks, the personality, and that wobbly walk we just can't get enough of. And while it's easy to admire them from behind glass at an aquarium, the real thrill lies in seeing them out in the wild, doing their thing — whether that's nesting, swimming or squabbling with their neighbours. From the ice fields of Antarctica to the beaches of Australia, here are eight brilliant places where you can watch penguins in their natural habitat, plus when to go for peak penguin action. Here Are 8 Best Spots To See Penguins: 1. Boulders Beach, Simon's Town - South Africa This is hands down one of the most accessible and Instagram-friendly penguin spots on the planet. Just a 45-minute drive from Cape Town, Boulders Beach is home to a colony of endangered African penguins that live among giant granite boulders — and yes, they hang out on the actual beach. Don't miss the wooden boardwalk through the penguin nesting area at Foxy Beach for up-close views. Best time to visit: March to May or September to November for pleasant weather and fewer crowds. Breeding starts in February. Top species: African penguin 2. Aitcho Islands, Antarctic Peninsula - Antarctica This small island group is one of the most popular stops on Antarctic cruises. During the summer months, the beaches are packed with Gentoo and Chinstrap penguins. It's raw, remote and wildly photogenic. Wondering how to go? Expedition cruises from Ushuaia usually include Aitcho on their itinerary. Best time to visit: December to January for chicks and longer daylight hours. Top species: Gentoo, Chinstrap 3. St Andrews Bay, South Georgia Island - South Atlantic Ocean St Andrews Bay looks like a scene straight out of a BBC nature doc. This remote, windswept bay hosts one of the largest King penguin colonies in the world — with upwards of 150,000 breeding pairs. The noise of this colony can be heard long before you arrive. Best time to visit: December to February for peak numbers and fluffy chicks. Top species: King penguin 4. Punta Tombo, Chubut Province - Argentina This is the largest Magellanic penguin colony in South America. Located along the Patagonian coast, Punta Tombo is home to over a million penguins during the breeding season — and they are everywhere. The 2.5-hour drive from Puerto Madryn is quite scenic. Best time to visit: September to March, with November being peak nesting time. Top species: Magellanic penguin New Zealand. Photo: iStock 5. Otago Peninsula, Dunedin - New Zealand For a more intimate penguin encounter, head to the Otago Peninsula. It's one of the best spots to see the rare Yellow-eyed penguin, which is super shy and seriously endangered. Take a guided tour from the Royal Albatross Centre for the best chance of sightings. Best time to visit: October to February for breeding season. Top species: Yellow-eyed penguin, Little Blue penguin 6. Phillip Island, Victoria - Australia Every night at sunset, hundreds of Little Blue penguins come ashore in what's known as the "Penguin Parade." It's a surprisingly moving sight — and Phillip Island is just two hours from Melbourne. Pro tip: Book a ranger-guided tour for front-row seats. Best time to visit: Year-round, but summer (December to February) sees the biggest parades. Top species: Little Blue penguin 7. Isabela Island, Galapagos - Ecuador The Galapagos penguin is the only one that lives north of the equator, and the western coast of Isabela Island is your best bet for spotting them. They often hang out on lava rocks or swim right past snorkellers. You might also spot sea lions, marine iguanas and blue-footed boobies. Best time to visit: July to November, when the Humboldt Current brings cooler waters. Top species: Galapagos penguin 8. Volunteer Point, East Falkland - Falkland Islands If you're after King penguins without heading all the way to Antarctica, Volunteer Point is a must. Located on East Falkland, it's home to around 1,500 breeding pairs, and the beachside backdrop makes it feel surreal. It's a 2.5-hour off-road drive from Stanley, but worth every bump. Best time to visit: Late November to early February for chicks and warmer weather. Top species: King, Gentoo, Magellanic
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
World's biggest iceberg could collide with Antarctic penguin island
The world's biggest iceberg -- three time the size of New York City -- could drift towards a remote island where a scientist warns it risks disrupting feeding for baby penguins and seals. The gigantic wall of ice is moving slowly from Antarctica on a potential collision course with South Georgia, a crucial wildlife breeding ground in the South Atlantic. Satellite imagery suggested that unlike previous "megabergs," this rogue was not crumbling into smaller chunks as it plodded through the Southern Ocean, Andrew Meijers, a physical oceanographer at the British Antarctic Survey, told AFP on Friday. He said predicting its exact course was difficult but prevailing currents suggested the colossus would reach the shallow continental shelf around South Georgia in two to four weeks. But what might happen next is anyone's guess, he said. It could avoid the shelf and get carried into open water beyond South Georgia, a British overseas territory some 870 miles east of the Falkland Islands. Or it could strike the sloping bottom and get stuck for months or break up into pieces. Meijers said this scenario could seriously impede seals and penguins trying to feed and raise their young on the island. The island hosts 1.3 million pairs of Chinstrap penguins — one of the world's largest colonies — about 5 million seals, and 65 million breeding birds. "Icebergs have grounded there in the past and that has caused significant mortality to penguin chicks and seal pups," he said. Roughly 1,550 square miles across, the world's biggest and oldest iceberg, known as A23a, calved from the Antarctic shelf in 1986. Before its calving in 1986, the colossal iceberg hosted a Soviet research station. falley It remained stuck for over 30 years before finally breaking free in 2020, its lumbering journey north sometimes delayed by ocean forces that kept it spinning in place. In 2023, the British Antarctic Survey posted a time-lapse of satellite imagery, showing the iceberg's movement. "Game of Thrones-esque" iceberg Meijers -- who encountered the iceberg face to face while leading a scientific mission in late 2023 -- described "a huge white cliff, 40 or 50 meters high, that stretches from horizon to horizon". "It's just like this white wall. It's very sort of Game of Thrones-esque, actually," he said, referring to the dark fantasy series. A23a has followed roughly the same path as previous massive icebergs, passing the east side of the Antarctica Peninsula through the Weddell Sea along a route called "iceberg alley." That is the same current of water that famed explorer Ernest Shackleton used in 1916 to make his storied escape from Antarctica after losing his ship, the Endurance. The legendary shipwreck was discovered off the coast of Antarctica in 2022. Weighing a little under a trillion tons, this monster block of freshwater was being whisked along by the world's most powerful ocean "jet stream" -- the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Raul Cordero from Chile's University of Santiago, who is also part of the National Antarctic Research Committee, said he was confident the iceberg would sidestep South Georgia. "The island acts as an obstacle for ocean currents and therefore usually diverts the water long before it reaches the island," he said. "The iceberg is moved by that water flow, so the chances of it hitting are not that high," though chunks could, he said. Another scientist, glaciologist Soledad Tiranti currently on an Argentinian exploration voyage in the Antarctic, said that icebergs such as A23a "are so deep that before reaching an island or mainland they generally get stuck" on the seabed. It is summer in South Georgia and resident penguins and seals along its southern coastline are foraging in the frosty waters to bring back food to fatten their young. "If the iceberg parks there, it'll either block physically where they feed from, or they'll have to go around it," said Meijers. "That burns a huge amount of extra energy for them, so that's less energy for the pups and chicks, which causes increased mortality." The seal and penguin populations on South Georgia have already been having a "bad season" with an outbreak of bird flu "and that (iceberg) would make it significantly worse," he said. As A23a ultimately melted it could seed the water with nutrients that encourage phytoplankton growth, feeding whales and other species, and allowing scientists to study how such blooms absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. While icebergs are natural phenomena, Meijers said the rate at which they were being lost from Antarctica was increasing, likely due to human induced climate change. In January 2023, a massive piece of Antarctica's Brunt Ice Shelf — a chunk about the size of two New York Cities — broke free. The Brunt Ice Shelf lies across the Weddell Sea from the site of the Larsen C ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula. In 2022, the Larsen C ice shelf — which was roughly the size of New York City and was long considered to be stable — collapsed into the sea. Vice President JD Vance's first interview | Face the Nation Rebuilding Paradise A tour of the Bronx
CBS News
27-01-2025
- Science
- CBS News
World's biggest iceberg could be on collision course with Antarctic penguin island: "Game of Thrones-esque"
The world's biggest iceberg -- three time the size of New York City -- could drift towards a remote island where a scientist warns it risks disrupting feeding for baby penguins and seals. The gigantic wall of ice is moving slowly from Antarctica on a potential collision course with South Georgia, a crucial wildlife breeding ground in the South Atlantic. Satellite imagery suggested that unlike previous "megabergs," this rogue was not crumbling into smaller chunks as it plodded through the Southern Ocean, Andrew Meijers, a physical oceanographer at the British Antarctic Survey, told AFP on Friday. He said predicting its exact course was difficult but prevailing currents suggested the colossus would reach the shallow continental shelf around South Georgia in two to four weeks. But what might happen next is anyone's guess, he said. It could avoid the shelf and get carried into open water beyond South Georgia, a British overseas territory some 870 miles east of the Falkland Islands. Or it could strike the sloping bottom and get stuck for months or break up into pieces. Meijers said this scenario could seriously impede seals and penguins trying to feed and raise their young on the island. The island hosts 1.3 million pairs of Chinstrap penguins — one of the world's largest colonies — about 5 million seals, and 65 million breeding birds. "Icebergs have grounded there in the past and that has caused significant mortality to penguin chicks and seal pups," he said. Roughly 1,550 square miles across, the world's biggest and oldest iceberg, known as A23a, calved from the Antarctic shelf in 1986. Before its calving in 1986, the colossal iceberg hosted a Soviet research station. falley It remained stuck for over 30 years before finally breaking free in 2020, its lumbering journey north sometimes delayed by ocean forces that kept it spinning in place. In 2023, the British Antarctic Survey posted a time-lapse of satellite imagery, showing the iceberg's movement. "Game of Thrones-esque" iceberg Meijers -- who encountered the iceberg face to face while leading a scientific mission in late 2023 -- described "a huge white cliff, 40 or 50 meters high, that stretches from horizon to horizon". "It's just like this white wall. It's very sort of Game of Thrones-esque, actually," he said, referring to the dark fantasy series. A23a has followed roughly the same path as previous massive icebergs, passing the east side of the Antarctica Peninsula through the Weddell Sea along a route called "iceberg alley." That is the same current of water that famed explorer Ernest Shackleton used in 1916 to make his storied escape from Antarctica after losing his ship, the Endurance. The legendary shipwreck was discovered off the coast of Antarctica in 2022. Weighing a little under a trillion tons, this monster block of freshwater was being whisked along by the world's most powerful ocean "jet stream" -- the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Raul Cordero from Chile's University of Santiago, who is also part of the National Antarctic Research Committee, said he was confident the iceberg would sidestep South Georgia. "The island acts as an obstacle for ocean currents and therefore usually diverts the water long before it reaches the island," he said. "The iceberg is moved by that water flow, so the chances of it hitting are not that high," though chunks could, he said. Another scientist, glaciologist Soledad Tiranti currently on an Argentinian exploration voyage in the Antarctic, said that icebergs such as A23a "are so deep that before reaching an island or mainland they generally get stuck" on the seabed. It is summer in South Georgia and resident penguins and seals along its southern coastline are foraging in the frosty waters to bring back food to fatten their young. "If the iceberg parks there, it'll either block physically where they feed from, or they'll have to go around it," said Meijers. "That burns a huge amount of extra energy for them, so that's less energy for the pups and chicks, which causes increased mortality." The seal and penguin populations on South Georgia have already been having a "bad season" with an outbreak of bird flu "and that (iceberg) would make it significantly worse," he said. As A23a ultimately melted it could seed the water with nutrients that encourage phytoplankton growth, feeding whales and other species, and allowing scientists to study how such blooms absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. While icebergs are natural phenomena, Meijers said the rate at which they were being lost from Antarctica was increasing, likely due to human induced climate change. In January 2023, a massive piece of Antarctica's Brunt Ice Shelf — a chunk about the size of two New York Cities — broke free. The Brunt Ice Shelf lies across the Weddell Sea from the site of the Larsen C ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula. In 2022, the Larsen C ice shelf — which was roughly the size of New York City and was long considered to be stable — collapsed into the sea.
