S. Georgia Newsletter Bears Good News for Gentoo Colonies

 

 

It was all hands to help for gentoo penguin chick and fur seal pup census and weighing at Maiviken this month. The youngsters weight is measured as part of a long-term ecosystem monitoring programme, which assesses the breeding success of different krill-eating species. Such information is important in monitoring any potential impacts of the krill fishery around the island.
The gentoo chick census came next as a group activity. We wandered over to Natural Arch armed with shiny clickers to count them, working our way through the colonies and finishing up the remainder the next day. Johnson Beach was last on our list and included the infamous chick weighing session where we caught and weighed 100 chicks. Luckily for us we came off fairly well and didn’t look too muddy at the end of it. All in all a good couple of days out and the final count of chicks was 3322 compared to 1816 last year.

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