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The mythic Tierra del Fuego always offers exciting wildlife news. Enrique Couve and Claudio F. Vidal, founding partners of our company, together with farm owner Ivo Robertson, are currently working together in the conservation of a small colony of King Penguin, which resides during most of the year at the Marassi rivermouth, located in the central portion of Useless Bay, Isla Grande of Tierra del Fuego, Chile. The colony is located approximately 120 kilometres east from the Chilean town of Porvenir and is fullly accessible through the international road towards San Sebastian, and then connecting south to the settlement of Cameron.
The Penguin King is the second largest species of the family Spheniscidae (after the Emperor Penguin) and for many people is the most charismatic and attractive species of the group. Variable numbers (10-40 individuals) of Penguin King have established at this place for at least 15 years, being the most numerous congregations during the period between November and March. During this period, the site has ramained without any environmental protection and has suffered the pressure of continuous disturbances from visitors; some people has extract individuals with commercial purposes (i.e. sale to overseas zoos). More limited groups of penguins (8-10 individuals) remain in the same zone during the whole winter, taking advantage of the excellent feeding conditions occurring in the surrounding waters. At the moment, we do not know if the individuals of this one small colony have realized breeding attempts at this location. If this can be verified it would be the first reported breeding colony of the species in South America.
Pictures by Claudio F. Vidal, Fantastico Sur Expeditions | More images here.
Check more details on our tours to visit the 'King Penguins of Tierra del Fuego'.
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