All About Gentoo Penguins
The Gentoo Penguin live on many islands of the Antarctic, but, the main colony is on the Falklands. It is a large, noisy colony. Their nest are made on rocky shores. They prefer the inland grasslands for nest building. They carry and pile stones, pebbles, grass, sticks, and anything they can find to make a circle. Gentoos can be aggressive and will fight over stones or take stones and nest building materials away from other birds' nests. Gentoo Penguins almost always lay two eggs inside of the circle. Both parents share the responsibility of caring for the eggs. The eggs hatch after 34 to 36 days. If there is a lot of food both chicks will survive. Chicks are kept in the nest for 30 days. Then the chicks will leave the nest and form crèches with other chicks. The chicks will remain in the crèches for about 80 to 100 days until they get their adult feathers. At this point the chicks will leave the crèches and go to sea on their own. Gentoo Penguins stand about 30 to 35 inches tall and weigh approximately 13 pounds. These penguins survive mainly on krill and sometimes other small fish.