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Wednesday, July 8, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Commentary...
Cavorting with penguins in the Falkland Islands
By Craig Frederick Eisenbeis
Columnist
A Facebook item spotted
by my wife, Kathi, noted the
posting person9s most use-
less purchase of the year:
<my 2020 planner.= The col-
lapse of the travel industry in
the wake of the novel coro-
navirus has definitely limited
our adventures and unique
wildlife experiences. One
that we managed to squeeze
in last year, however, was
visiting penguin colonies in
the Falkland Islands.
Our first-ever wild pen-
guin sighting happened to be
a single, swimming speci-
men in New Zealand. Just
over a year later, however,
we would see them by the
thousands in the Falkland
Islands! Our penguin
bonanza, however, almost
didn9t happen.
Last year, on our Princess
Cruise Line voyage circum-
navigating South America,
penguins were at the very top
of our list of planned activi-
ties; and we signed up for a
penguin tour in Patagonia.
Unfortunately, the weather
was so bad that we were
unable to dock there; and
we lost that opportunity.
Our next scheduled port
was in the Falkland Islands,
but we hadn9t signed up for
penguins there because we
thought we already had that
covered. That9s when we
belatedly discovered that all
the Falkland penguin tours
were full.
As an alternative, we
heard about a public bus
line that could take us to a
spot where penguins were
visible from a distance, so
we figured we would have
to settle for that. Then we
learned that a Norwegian
Cruise Ship ahead of us
had been unable to land in
the Falklands, also due to
weather. In the end, though,
our ship made it. Then, by
mere chance, as we prepared
to disembark, we encoun-
tered someone who had just
decided not to go ashore for
the top-rated penguin tour!
There was only one ticket,
and Kathi insisted that I take
it. So, with a precious ticket
in hand, I headed for the
Bluff Cove penguin excur-
sion. Kathi took the public
bus.
The tour started with a
mini-bus ride to the other
side of East Falkland and the
penguin rookeries located at
a place called Bluff Cove.
On the way, we learned
about the islands, their econ-
omy, and the 1982 Falklands
War. We also learned that
there were more of us aboard
the Royal Princess (5,600)
than inhabited the islands
themselves (about 3,200).
With no native trees, the
Falklands are windswept
and grassy, somewhat remi-
niscent of Alaska9s Aleutian
Islands. Principal indus-
tries are fishing, tourism,
and sheep. Like most of the
civilized world outside the
United States, health care
is free. Only a few hundred
miles from the Antarctic
Peninsula, typical summer
high temperatures are in the
mid 50s. It was much colder
on the day of our February
summer visit, and some
snowflakes were falling.
Our bus arrived at a
35,000-acre sheep farm,
where we were parceled out
to private 4x4 vehicles and
bounced across the tundra-
like surface to the ocean9s
edge, where thousands of
penguins awaited. There are
five species of penguins in
the Falklands, and we would
see three. By far the most
numerous were the Gentoo
penguins, which stand about
two and a half feet tall. One
third of the world9s Gentoos
live in the Falklands.
Reaching swimming speeds
of 22 mph, Gentoos are the
fastest penguin; and they can
dive to depths of 600 feet.
They do not migrate.
The Bluff Cove colony of
King penguins consisted of
about 40 specimens, includ-
ing several large, fuzzy
chicks. Kings do not build a
nest and take turns incubat-
ing a single egg on the tops
of their feet. The King pen-
guin parents also take turns
going to sea to hunt for food;
they can dive to 750 feet and
eat a variety of sea creatures,
especially fish and squid. At
three feet tall and 30 pounds,
Kings are second in size
only to Emperor penguins,
which are not found here.
The third species we saw,
the Falkland9s smallest, was
the two-foot Magellanic;
but most of those were at
sea. They are named for
the Portuguese explorer
Ferdinand Magellan, who
first saw these flightless
birds in 1520.
In the vicinity of the
rookeries, we were restricted
in where we were allowed
to walk; but the curious
penguins were not simi-
larly constrained and often
approached to inspect us
closely. Most of the Gentoo
chicks were nearly full
grown, but some still sported
spotty tufts of residual chick
down clinging to their bod-
ies. Fallen feathers and down
lay thick on the ground.
The tour concluded
with crumpets and tea at
a tiny café and gift shop
perched amidst the rookery.
Fortunately, as it turned out,
Kathi was also able to see
plenty of penguins on her
(much cheaper) tour, but
without the up-close and
personal penguin contact at
Bluff Cove.
The Falkland Islands
are a former British Colony
that is now referred to as a
<British Overseas Territory.=
It has been under British
rule since 1853, except for
74 days in 1982, when the
Argentines invaded the ter-
ritory with the intent of
annexing the islands they
refer to as Islas Malvinas.
The war was initiated by the
Argentine dictator, Leopoldo
Galtieri, who was having
image and political diffi-
culties at home. He is said
to have initiated the war to
distract the nation from his
problems. It didn9t work out
PHOTO BY KATHI EISENBEIS
Craig Eisenbeis visiting a Gentoo penguin rookery in the Falkland
Islands.
so well, either for him or the
nearly 1,000 fatalities of the
war.
British Prime Minister,
Margaret Thatcher, took
umbrage and immediate
action, and the British recap-
tured the islands. The vast
majority of casualties were
on the Argentinian side. In
addition to the land fight-
ing, the British sunk a major
Argentine warship, account-
ing for approximately half
the Argentine deaths. Galtieri
was removed from power
four days after the Argentine
surrender. Relations between
the 2 countries have since
improved but remain frosty.
On a subsequent tour
later that day, we visited
the Liberation Monument,
<In Memory of Those Who
Liberated Us 14 June 1982.=
In another war, the islands
were also the site of a major
British 1914 naval victory in
World War I. In that engage-
ment, six of eight German
ships were sunk, with more
than 2,000 casualties. The
British suffered ten deaths.
The date of the sea battle,
December 8, is observed
as a public holiday in the
Falklands.
Returning by boat to the
ship, we left the penguins
behind and sailed west. The
next evening, we reached the
Pacific Ocean and rounded
a misty Cape Horn as my
great-grandfather, Frederick
Eisenbeis, had done in 1858
on his way to the Pacific
Northwest. However, our
trip was doubtlessly more
comfortable than his; and
we were served champagne
and Oysters Rockefeller as
we rounded The Horn.
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PHOTO BY CRAIG EISENBEIS
King penguins are the largest of five penguin species in the Falkland
Islands.
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