These guys are characters, and are sometimes called Jackass penguins due to the braying sound they make and their silly antics. Unlike the rookeries where the Gentoo, Rockhopper and King penguins raise their chicks, the Magellanic penguins raise their chicks in burrows.


Our first encounter with them was while walking towards the the beach where the juvenile male elephant seals lounged around. Their chicks were several months old, and would soon be leaving the burrow to go off on their own.

When we got to the beach some of the adults were going out for their morning fishing expedition

They walked right past us in single file, seemingly oblivious to our presence (and to the presence of the 2,000 pound juvenile male elephant seals)

Before entering the water they would gather for a huddle


One of them got an earful after the morning huddle!


The braying started soon after, and you learn why they are called Jackass penguins

After the braying it’s a headlong rush into the water to feed

They came in waves and waddled their way up to the surf

They dipped one foot into the water and came running back out


He just stood there for a while on one foot

Hard to explain why they came back out so fast, maybe the water was a little wetter than normal?

This was our chance to get some close up shots

Eventually the adults went fishing, and were mobbed by their famished chicks when they returned with a full tummy of fish and krill to regurgitate

We saw them in many locations around Sea Lion Island. They were either in burrows, or going into or out of the ocean.

This pair did not have a chick

This one kept a wary eye on us as it emerged from the surf

We pre-positioned a video camera and watched them as they got the courage to walk past it

We also saw the Magellanic’s again at Volunteer Point when we went to see the King Penguins. The Magellanic’s had burrows adjacent to the beach, and to get back to our accommodations we had to walk past them.

The walk from the beach to our house took us right past their burrows

They seemed disturbed by our presence, so we kept on walking slowly past them

As Dr. P slowly kept walking towards the house, distancing himself from these penguins, he had a funny feeling something was behind him. He turned around and saw this inquisitive penguin following him. He stopped and turned on the video camera, and stayed there for a few minutes while this little guy checked him out.

We saw them one last time at New Island while we were watching the Rockhopper penguins brave the rough waters as they returned from a fishing excursion.

These two were smart as they hid amongst the rocks while watching the Rockhoppers get thrashed by waves at New Island

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