Penguin Wrangling
December 12, 2008
We picked up our first two returning satellite tags today. Small transmitters are taped to the feathers on a penguin’s back, bouncing its position off satellites which relay the information to our email. It’s a pretty fancy system that documents the penguins as they swim out to sea and return with food.
Retrieving the transmitters is not so fancy. You’ve got to catch the penguin, and he remembers you from when you first put the transmitter on a couple days before. Still, he will stick by his nest, and, to capture him, all you need to do is walk over and pick him up. Then, you’ve got one very angry penguin on your hands, and getting the tag off his back is a matter of pinning his head in your armpit, holding his feet with one hand, and undoing the tape with the other. Meanwhile, the chicks in the nest are exposed, so we throw a warm hat over them to protect against skuas marauding from the sky. The soft, wriggling hat with penguin fluffballs underneath always brings a smile.
I wrangled my first penguins today. Retrieving the satellite tags was easy enough. Then, we spotted a young bird wandering around a snowfield with a misplaced band which could cause damage, and had to catch it to bend the metal tag back into place. Without a nest to defend, the penguin was as wily as could be. Kirsten and I came at him from both sides, but, on the icy hill, he ran circles around us as we slipped and slid. This called for a net, and Kirsten finally sprinted with a flat-out dive, sweep, and snatch to end the chase. The penguin’s band was easy to mend, and he was a little miffed, but none the worse for wear.
Standing Room Only On This Iceberg
2 Responses to 'Penguin Wrangling'
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I’m still laughing at your descriptions – I feel like I’m there with you. I have just completed training as a bander assistant for the Prescott Bluebird Recovery Project in the Portland, OR, area. I can tell you that banding Western Bluebirds is a WHOLE LOT easier than the process you describe!
ZHL
13 Dec 08 at 10:31 am
I am so very jealous of your experience. I was on a cruise in Antarctica last year and can’t quit talking about it. The penguins are just so fun to watch–for hours, almost as much fun as gorillas. Your photos are spectacular. Too bad you are so young though, because, how will you be able to top this experience in your life?
Great work. Thanks for sharing it with us.
nan
13 Dec 08 at 11:57 am