Penguin Places
By IT Blog
on March 6, 2009 11:10 AM
IT Contributor Andrew Evans offers an all-inclusive guide to all things penguin.
Penguin Places
By IT Blog on March 6, 2009 11:10 AM
IT Contributor Andrew Evans offers an all-inclusive guide to all things penguin.
Penguins are never passé. Be they marching or tapping their happy feet toward another sequel, the little black and white birds are still very much in everybody’s minds and hearts. I also imagine that kids who play with plastic penguins in their Happy Meals grow up to be bigger kids who want to see the birds in real life, in the wild.
Admittedly, live penguins are so astonishingly cool–the way they tilt their heads from side to side to get a good look at you, the strange braying chorus they sing, and that distinctive penguin smell that’s part fishy dishwasher detergent and part dusty, old attic. Travelers often bemoan the fact that penguin Grand Central is in almost-inaccessible Antarctica, a destination better suited for scientists, explorers, and millionaires. Still, that doesn’t mean you have to cross wild penguins off your wish list. The southern hemisphere is filled with alternatives for seeing wild penguins in their natural habitats.
The Galápagos penguin is the world’s northernmost penguin species. They live right on the equator, but look and act a lot like the penguins from colder climes. The best viewing spots are on Isabela island (the largest in the archipelago) and the west coast of Fernandina island.
The endemic Galapagos Penguins (Spheniscus mendiculus) are one of the smallest of the warm weather penguins. IUCN – The World Conservation Union designation: Endangered population estimated between 3,000-8,000 penguins.
They are also commonly found in and around Bartolome and Sullivan Bay (Santiago Island).
Posted using ShareThis
