The Gentoo Penguin | Articles of Interest for Travelers to The Antarctic
The Gentoo Penguin
It is said that the Gentoo penguin got its name because early British explorers familiar with East Indian customs thought the white splotch on the species’ head resembled the cap worn by a religious sect that came to be known as Hindu. The Gentoo also has a distinctive fire engine red bill and pink-orange feet.
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About the same size as the Adelie and Chinstrap species, its closest relatives, the Gentoo penguin prefers a diet of crustaceans such as krill but is willing to eat fin-fish, fishing cooperatively in mostly shallow dives. Female Gentoos are smaller than males, and their diet differs slightly in composition. In the more northerly areas of their range, the breeding season starts in June and July, but not until October and November in the coldest parts of the Antarctic Peninsula. The Gentoo lays two eggs with an incubation of about five weeks. Hatchlings are old enough to leave the crèche in less than three months.
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Gentoos are able to survive in the widest range of any penguin species, and where they live affects their size and life cycle. Most inhabit on the Antarctic Peninsula as far south as Petermann Island. Among the peninsula locations where Gentoos are often observed during travel to Antarctica are Paradise Bay opposite Anvers Island, Port Lockroy at Goudier Island and Cuverville Island in the Errera Channel.
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Gentoos are the rarest of the penguins visitors will see on the sub-Antarctic islands during their Antarctica tours in the Southern Indian Ocean. Colonies are located at South Georgia Island, the Kerguelen Islands and the South Shetlands. In the South Shetlands, visitors may see Gentoos at Baily Head on Deception Island and in much smaller numbers on Elephant Island. A colony of 4,000 pairs is found in Yankee Harbor.
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Non-endemic in the Falkland Islands, between 65,000 and 100,000 Gentoo pairs live here in large colonies at some breeding sites. During their travel to Antarctica, visitors may see Gentoos in several Falklands locations. On East Falkland Island, Gentoos are found at Volunteer Point and Penguin Walk, three miles east of Stanley, as well as in the West Falklands on Carcass and Sea Lion islands. Though indistinguishable to visitors on Antarctica tours, the Gentoo sub-species that inhabits the Antarctic Peninsula is different from the sub-species found on sub-Antarctic islands.
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Adolescent Gentoos travel farther afield than adults, seen on islands in the direction of New Zealand and South Africa. Visitors may also see Gentoos during their Argentina tours. The species travels as far north as Tierra del Fuego National Park and may be seen in the vicinity of Estancia Harberton along the shoreline and on islands in the Beagle Channel.
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The population of Gentoos is estimated to be around 300,000 to 350,000 pairs.
