Thursday, October 25, 2007

Penguins everywhere ! - A new Linux wallpaper

I couldn't resist ..


Amazing pictures as 10,000 penguins come to shore to breed

..Daily Mail..

It is one of the most extraordinary sights in nature: more than 10,000 King Penguins standing shoulder to shoulder at St Andrew's bay on the island of South Georgia, preparing to breed.

The 3ft tall creatures — part of a colony of more than 100,000 on the Atlantic island close to Antarctica — create a living landscape of breathtaking scale and colour.

Scroll down for more...

King Penguins

10,000 King Penguins stand shoulder to shoulder on a remote island near Antarctica preparing to breed

Enlarge the image

The King Penguins lay their eggs in late November, with a peak around mid-December.

They don't build nests — instead the male and female of each mating couple take it in turns to incubate a single egg on their feet over the course of two months.

When incubating they stand rooted to the spot just a flipper's length from the next one.

The childcare is surprisingly egalitarian: the male takes the first incubation shift of two weeks, then the female takes the next fortnight, after which they swap every three or four days.

But it's not just the urge to breed which impels penguins to come ashore at certain times of the year — sometimes they need to change their clothes.

Feathers wear out and lose their insulating properties, so their waterproof — and, for a bird which doesn't fly, surprisingly aerodynamic — suits must be replaced.

After about 12 days of moulting on shore, they have lost virtually all their vibrant plumage and stand almost naked.


...more

1 comment:

Yokara said...

Fantastic Penguins, wowwwwwwwww!