Sea lions, elephant seals,
guanacos, rheas, Magellanic penguins and many other seabirds are present
in large numbers on the beaches and headlands of one of South America's
finest wildlife reserves, Peninsula Valdez, but the biggest attraction
is the southern right whale Eubalaena australis, known in Spanish
as the ballena franca.
Sheep estancias occupy most of the peninsula's interior, which includes
one of the world's lowest continental depressions, the salt flats
of Salina Grande and Salina Chica, 42m below sea level.
The small village of Puerto Piràmide is the only settlement
on the Valdés Peninsula. Nestled in a deep bay off the Nueva
Gulf, it is picturesque and peaceful, surrounded by beautiful natural
scenery.
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The coasts of Peninsula Valdés
are the southern elephant seals' only continental breeding
grounds. They are the world's largest seal species, males reaching
20 feet (6.5m) in length and females, 10 feet (3.25m). In July, the
bulls return from the sea and establish their territories; later,
the females arrive to form their harems, give birth, and then mate
again.
During this period, visitors can observe the activities of these animals
on the beach, such as the fierce fights between bulls defending their
harems and territory, and the females nursing their pups. The best
place for this is the Punta Cantor Wildlife reserve, where a great
number of elephant seals gather each year. |
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The Magellanic penguin is a member
of the genus Spheniscus. The Magellanic has a typical penguin appearance
with black-to-brown shading on the back and white coloring on the
breast and trunk. The Magellanic can be distinguished with moderate
attention by the two bands traversing the anterior surface of its
neck.
Magellanic penguins average about 17.5 inches in height and weigh
around 6.5 pounds. These figures place them in the category of "average"
for penguin physical measurements. Both the male and the female exhibit
the same color patterns (monomorphism).
The ecology of the Magellanic penguin is diverse. It inhabits the
cold temperate subantarctic islands and the Chilean coasts. The Magellanic
penguin both temporally and spatially overlaps with the Humboldt penguin,
but they do not usually interbreed. When Magellanic penguins do breed,
they do so on Juan Fernandez, Staten Island, Tierra del Fuego, and
the Falkland Islands from late September to February. They do migrate
during the year.
Their populations may be threatened by continued oil spills and other
human activities, but there are an estimated 1.2 million pairs of
these birds. Naturally, they are preyed upon by the Southern sea lion,
the Dominican gull (chicks, eggs) and the Giant petrel (chicks, eggs).
Their diet consists of primarily marine crustaceans and small fish.
The Magellanic penguin is sometimes called the jackass penguin.
Magellanic penguins come ashore at the same places to gather in
the same nests with the same mates as years before to breed and
hatch their eggs. The males begin to arrive at the end of August
to get their nests ready to receive the females in September. After
mating and laying their eggs, both males and females share the responsibilities
of incubation for 40 days, after which their young hatch. Between
February and March, the young are the first to take off for their
almost yearlong stay at sea. The adults finally abandon their colonies
in April to take to the sea, traveling as far as the latitudes of
Brazil.
The largest colony of Magellanic penguins is on Punta Tombo in
Chubut with a population of approximately 500.000 adults; there
has been a considerable reduction in their numbers since the mid-1990s.
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As human beings, we are accustomed to having practically
all types of animals flee when we come near them. Few species show
any curiosity for getting closer to us. But the whale offers a singular
opportunity to establish a link, even if only a temporary one. And
here, in Argentina, on the Valdés Peninsula,(Chubut Province),
1,400 kilometers south of Buenos Aires, travelers can witness one
of the world's most famed natural spectacles, while enjoying the
docile presence of these huge mammals.
This Argentine coastal region is one of the largest whale mating
grounds in the world, ranking after South Africa, whose coastal
waters receive periodic visits of between 2,000 and 3,000 whales
out of the 6,000 that are estimated to populate the world's oceans.
Beaches still waiting to be discovered; an open untroubled sky,
free of tall buildings and gray smokestacks, and the placid waters
of the gulf: This is the scenario chosen as from May each year by
the southern right whales. This tranquil seascape off the
coast of the Valdés Peninsula is the place of preference
for the reproductive cycle and most sublime moment in the lives
of these 15-meter-long sea-going mammals. The mating rite is marked
by the twists and turns of the courting dance, spectacular leaps
into the air and crashing dives back into the sea, an exciting show
that usually takes place a couple of kilometers off shore.
Several males at a time stir the foamy sea with antics that have
little to do with their habitual behavior. They become aggressive
with one another in their attempts to seduce the same female. The
female resists at first, but eventually gives in to the charms of
one of her suitors. The male's reproductive organs store an enormous
amount of semen (some 500 kilograms per testicle), enough to impregnate
several females. When the female finally accepts the male's overtures,
coitus takes place with both whales in a vertical position, facing
one another, with their heads out of the water. The joyous result
of this encounter is the birth of a whale calf, about five meters
in length, that grows at a rate of 35 centimeters a day thereafter.
Whale cows give birth once every three years and the gestation period
is 12 months.
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