QUESTION:  
How many penguins are usually in a rookery? Does it
depend on food supplies, peditors or other factors?
                   
         Ben P., Mr. Lewis' 3rd grade class at
         Burnley Moran School in Charlottesville, Va.

ANSWER from Carol Vleck, Environmental Physiologist
            Palmer Station, Antarctica
            Thu, 13 Feb 1997 09:12:15 -0600

Dear Ben,

The size of a rookery really varies a lot.  Some rookeries have hundreds of
thousands of penguins like the ones near McMurdo Station on the other side
of the continent.  The rookeries near Palmer Station have fewer penguins
(usually hundreds to a few thousand) probably because there isn't as much
land that is good for building their nests here.  The number of penguins
that come back each year varies a little bit depending on how many of them
survived the winter, whether there is a lot of sea ice near the places they
nest, how many were hatched in previous years and so on.  It is a very
difficult question and one that many people are trying to asnwer.

Thanks for your question!
Carol Vleck 



 themselves fat again, because soon they have to molt into
their new feathers which takes a lot of energy.

Thanks for your question!
Carol Vleck