Tourism and its impact on endangered species is, not surprisingly, one of the themes of The Tourist Trail. It’s not a simple issue. In the case of the Magellanic penguin colony at Punta Tombo, more than 100,000 tourists now visit the site annually, which can (and sometimes does) overwhelm the birds. But the fact that so … Read more
Dee Boersma, director of the Penguin Project, spoke at a TED event recently and I highly recommend watching it: Dee has devoted more than 20 years to studying penguins and she has the data that shows that penguin colonies are declining, and quickly. Just as important, she has clear recommendations for how to solve this … Read more
Exactly how penguins navigate is still largely a mystery. Every year, penguins travel thousands of miles and still somehow find their way home. Here’s an inspiring story about a penguin rescued by the IFAW, relocated two thousand miles away for rehabilitation, and then, amazingly, seen again back near his home. The first time we saw … Read more
I just came across an interesting article on how the researchers in Punta Tombo are using computers to aid in data entry and spatial tracking. And at least one Magellanic penguin appears to approve of the new devices. Researcher Eleanor Lee sheds light on just how much data they collect each year: “Up until now, … Read more
Penguins may look cute and cuddly but you wouldn’t want to get too close to one. They bite and they bite hard. Which is probably why we’re so fascinated by those select penguin who choose not to bite humans. There is a penguin, named Sandy, in a zoo in German that has developed quite an … Read more
Headed back to the ocean.