naturalrealm

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South Georgia Island and the Falklands- in benefit of the South Georgia Heritage Trust

Please note: all proceeds from purchases of prints for this collection are donated to the South Georgia Heritage Trust for rat eradication to protect this important environment!
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    King penguins in snow, South Georgia Island.  I found myself intrigued by the pattern their outline made in this expanse of snow as it appeared through the telephoto lens.
    _MK_0374-Edit.jpg
    King penguins constantly prune feathers.  Like all birds, they molt - and in the Antarctic, the energy requirements are substantial.  Adult king penguins annually fast ashore for 1 month for molting. By the end of molt, they have lost 44% of their prefasting body mass. About 18% of new feather synthesis occurs at sea, thus reducing both nutrient requirement and fasting duration.  Credit for research, and for further information: "Energy and protein requirements for molt in the king penguin Aptenodytes patagonicus."
Cherel Y, Charrassin JB, Challet E.