Fairy Penguins
These little guys get their name from their size - standing about a foot tall and weighing about three pounds. This particular batch lives on Phillip Island south of Melbourne. First thing in the morning they climb down the steep slopes and swim out to sea where they feed all day. At evening they join together in small flotillas and as a unit ride a wave into shore. The breaking wave scatters them all over the place, end over appetite. They then regroup in shallow water and when the coast is clear of predators they make a mad dash to the shrubbery lining the slopes. And then they climb, and climb, and climb... They do this every day. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures of their exit from the sea. Needless to say, they are really, really cute. The last picture, obviously, is one of those touristy posed shots, but it shows how diminutive they are.
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