Penguin shower:

Get in line

Chamari Senanayake

At the Falkland Islands midday sun does not burn so harsh, as cool South Atlantic waters surround it. The January average maximum temperature is about 13° Celsius (55° Fahrenheit), and the July maximum average temperature is about 4° Celsius (39° Fahrenheit ), humidity and winds, however, are constantly high.

Snow is rare but can occur at almost any time of year. Gales are very frequent, particularly in winter. But everyone knows that penguins are used to life in a cold climate, therefore, there’s always a queue for the freshwater spring shower found on Saunders Island (the fourth largest of the Falkland Islands), which offers the chance to cool off and clean up at the same time.

These delightful pictures show the clearly hygiene conscious Rockhopper penguins waddling in from their coastal colonies for an invigorating rinse and they will also remind you of the very energetic and funny character ‘Ramon’ and his gang from the movie ‘Happy Feet’ where famous actor Robbin Williams voiced for both Ramon and Lovelace, two popular Rockhopper penguins.

These pictures were taken by British photographer brothers Will and Matt Burrard-Lucas. They say that these incredibly cute penguins’ irresistible antics distracted them. ‘They were wonderful to watch, as they clearly seemed to be enjoying themselves. They would often squabble for the best spot under the water and we could have spent the entire trip watching the penguins frolicking in the water!’ says Will Burrard-Lucas.

These Penguins form colonies of up to 100,000 in the Antarctic summer when they come ashore to lay eggs and raise their chicks. According to the photographers, along their main route between the penguin colony and the sea, there is this fresh water spring with a small waterfall. The place is busy throughout the day with playful squawking, squabbling, splashing birds as if it is a public bathing place.

According to them, the penguins display no fear and when you are quiet they often come and check the humans out. At one instance these curious little penguins hopped 50 metres up a hill to come and check the photographers out. ‘We also watched in shock as they hurled themselves off rocks into tumultuous crashing waves!

They love to splash and drink the cool clean water while washing salt water and dirt from their feathers.’, the brothers added. Rockhopper Penguins are the smallest of penguins of the Falkland Islands and the islands are one of the most important locations for the species. There are 210,400 pairs of Rockhoppers recorded as living on the island. They grow to only 60 cm tall and live mainly on squid and lobster krill.

Researchers recently reported that the population of his northern relatives has declined by 90 percent over the last 50 years. The population of northern Rockhopper penguins was once in the millions, but now the largest colonies are estimated at between 32,000 to 65,000 pairs on Gough Island, and 40,000 to 50,000 pairs on Tristan da Cunha Island, according to a study in the journal Bird Conservation International.

These lovable Rockhopper is one of the world’s 17 penguin species. Listed as ‘vulnerable’ by the World Conservation Union, it is one of 10 species facing extinction due to global warming.