HISTORY

STATUS

THREATS

FAQS

RESEARCH

Most of us imagine penguins to be polar creatures, much more at home in a world of ice and snow than on the sandy beaches and sheep paddocks of the Falklands. Yet this is one of the world’s great penguin capitals: as many as a million penguins nest in the Falklands every summer, representing five of the world’s seventeen species – King, Gentoo, Rockhopper, Magellanic and Macaroni. What’s more, for two of those species, the Gentoo and the Rockhopper, the Falklands are home to the largest populations on Earth.

From: The Falkland Islands, Between the Wind & Sea Kevin Schafer, award winning photographer and Life Member of Falklands Conservation

Find out the extent of man’s exploitation of penguins in the past, including boiling for oil and egg collection in History. The current Falkland penguin populations and their importance in global terms are described in Status. The current pressures faced by Falkland penguins, such as commercial fishing, pollution, disease and climate change are in Threats.

The Falkland Islands hold spectacular colonies of seabirds, and are globally important for their penguin populations. This is recognised internationally through designation of 22 Important Bird Areas, all of which are coastal or island sites containing breeding colonies of these attractive birds.

Falkland Island Penguins: King Gentoo Rockhopper Magellanic Macaroni

How You Can Help

By Adopting a Penguin or by making a donation to the Penguin Appeal you can directly support Falklands Conservation and our efforts to protect the penguins of the Falkland Islands. Sales from the Penguin Arts & Crafts Book go towards supporting our field work.