- Astonishing images show between 150,000 and 250,000 King Penguins huddled together on island of South Georgia
- Nature photographer Roie Galitz, from Tel Aviv, Israel, described the scene as 'penguins as far as the eye could see'
- Just like Emperor Penguins, as in the film Happy Feet, King Penguins gather to insulate their babies against the cold
- Baby chicks can be seen huddled among the crowds of adults, small brown patches of fluff in the chilly wasteland
Spectacular images show the gigantic scale of penguin parenthood when part of one of the world's largest King Penguin colonies. Hundreds
of thousands of penguins huddle together for warmth in the harsh
wintery conditions, just like the Emperor Penguins immortalised in the
animated film Happy Feet.
On
the island of South Georgia, in the southern Atlantic Ocean, these
penguins are grouped together to keep their newborns from freezing to
death. Nature
photographer Roie Galitz, 35, captured the momentous occasion, at which
between 150,000 and 250,000 King Penguins gathered.
Community: Hundreds of thousands of
King Penguins huddle together for warmth in the harsh conditions on the
island of South Georgia
Parenthood:
An adult penguin feeds a morsel of food to its chick, which is still
just a ball of brown fluff and requires round-the-clock care
Spectacular: Nature photographer Roie
Galitz, 35, captured the occasion, at which between 150,000 and 250,000
King Penguins gathered
'It
was overwhelming,' said Roie, from Tel Aviv in Israel. 'I stopped and
just looked at those staggering numbers, penguins as far as the eye
could see.
'Every beach landing just showed more and more King Penguins.'
Baby chicks can be seen huddled among the crowds of adult penguins, just small brown patches of fluff in the chilly wasteland.
While
adult penguins have an outer layer of oily feathers, the chicks are
born with just layers of downy fluff and so aren't able to keep
themselves warm. They require round-the-clock care for the first three
weeks, and take on average between 10 and 13 months to raise.
Although
accurate counts haven't been carried out in recent years, St Andrews
Bay on South Georgia has a single colony which has grown to around
500,000 King Penguins at the busiest times of year, according to
AnimalCorner.co.uk.
King Penguins are the world's second largest penguin, and are sometimes confused with the larger Emperor Penguin.
Needy: Baby chicks can be seen huddled
among the crowds of adult penguins, just small brown patches of fluff
in the chilly wasteland
Penguin antics: After photographer
Roie Galitz, from Tel Aviv, captured the scale of the scene, he focused
in on some of the individuals
Wasteland: Two King Penguins can be
seen standing proudly away from their flock on the island of South
Georgia, in the Atlantic Ocean
Frosty: King Penguins flock together
to share body heat, just like Emperor Penguins as immortalised in the
animated film Happy Feet
Overcrowding: Parents and babies flock
together in their hundreds of thousands, to protect the offspring from
the island's bitter cold
Sensational: The vast landscapes of
the island in the southern Atlantic Ocean make an ideal backdrop for
Galitz's nature photography
Greedy: A baby King Penguin tries to
find out if its parent has any more food for it - the chicks require
round-the-clock care when newborn
Milling around: For at least the first
three weeks of the babies' lives, they require constant care to stop
them freezing to death on the island
Vast crowds: Between 150,000 and 250,000 King Penguins are estimated to have been at the gathering on South Georgia island
Frozen: Adult penguins have an outer
layer of oily feathers, but chicks are born with just layers of downy
fluff and so can't keep warm
Wildlife haven: King Penguins are the world's second largest penguin, and are sometimes confused with the larger Emperor Penguin
Adventurous: Photographer Roie Galitz was determined to capture the enormous scale of the penguin gathering on South Georgia
Group: Galitz said: 'It was
overwhelming - I stopped and just looked at those staggering numbers,
penguins as far as the eyes could see'
Tiring:Spectacular images show the
gigantic scale of penguin parenthood when part of one of the worlds
largest King Penguin colonies
Giant assembly: It is estimated that
between 150,000 and 250,000 King Penguins gather for the event on the
island in the southern Altantic
Vulnerable: A line of chicks can be
seen among the giant grouping, encouraged by their parents to huddle
with each other for warmth
No comments:
Post a Comment