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5 unusual facts about Chinstrap penguin


Chinstrap Penguin

In 2004, two male chinstrap penguins named Roy and Silo in Central Park Zoo, New York City, formed a pair-bond and took turns trying to “hatch” a rock; this was substituted by a keeper for a fertile egg, and the pair subsequently hatched and raised the chick.

The Chinstrap Penguin (Pygoscelis antarctica) is a species of penguin which is found in the South Sandwich Islands, Antarctica, Deception Island, the South Orkneys, South Shetland,South Georgia, Bouvet Island and Balleny.

Deception Island

Deception Island has become a popular tourist stop in Antarctica because of its several colonies of Chinstrap Penguins, as well as the novel possibility of making a warm bath by digging into the sands of the beach.

Baily Head, a prominent headland forming the easternmost extremity of the island, has been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports a very large breeding colony of Chinstrap Penguins (100,000 pairs).

Narębski Point

It is geologically complex and rich in flora and fauna, with an extensive cover of mosses and lichens There are large colonies of Chinstrap and Gentoo Penguins.


Leopard seal

Larger leopard seals probably switch from krill to more substantial prey, including king, adelie, rockhopper, gentoo, emperor penguins and chinstraps, and less frequently, other seals, such as crabeater seal.

Lions Rump

Other birds nesting at the site in smaller numbers include Gentoo and Chinstrap Penguins, Southern Giant Petrels, Cape Petrels, Wilson's and Black-bellied Storm Petrels, Snowy Sheathbills, South Polar and Brown Skuas, Kelp Gulls and Antarctic Terns.


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