Royal Penguins Nesting in the Rookery Mug

Royal Penguins (Eudyptes schlegeli) in the breeding rookery, sitting on eggs on their pebble nests, and mutually preening. There are about 20,000 breeding pairs in this rookery. Macquarie Island is the only place where Royal Penguins breed. Southern Ocean, Australia. Clearly any environmental disaster would have a huge impact on this species of penguin. They are considered vulnerable due to limited breeding sites. On 3 December, 1997 Macquarie Island was listed as a World Heritage Area, the second Tasmanian World Heritage Area. Macquarie Island is a site of outstanding geological and natural significance on a world scale. The island is one of only a very few in the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean where fauna in the region can bre...