The logo for the 2008-09 Jersey Rockhoppers, a hockey team that played in the EPHL

Photo about a lone Macaroni Penguin standing on a rock - South Georgia. Image of animal, single, pink - 13453076

Rockhoppers can dive 100 metres for several minutes while on the hunt. They’ll often stay out in the ocean for days at a time.

A Rockhopper Penguin gives an angry welcome to its mate ! Taken on West Point Island, The Falklands, on the way down to Antarctica. Fifteen million penguins live in the South Atlantic (excluding sub-Antarctic and Antarctic areas). A large proportion of these are to be found in the the Falkland Islands which hold the world's largest concentration of Rockhopper Penguins and a quarter of the world population of Gentoo penguins, with three other breeding species (King, Magellanic and Macaroni). Penguins are among the most popular of birds today yet they were exploited by mankind in the Falkland Islands for at least two centuries. Millions were slaughtered for their oil from late in the 18th century. Eggs of all four species of penguin have been taken for food since men reached the Falklands. In 1871 a colony of Rockhoppers at Sparrow Cove near Stanley yielded 25,000 eggs, but none breed there today. In the present century the coastal breeding sites and a flightless, aquatic life style make penguins highly vulnerable to oil pollution, entanglement in marine debris and changes in the marine ecosystem. Falkland waters are already subject to large scale commercial fisheries. The imminent exploration for oil in Falkland waters makes research into the at sea distribution status and life style of penguins an urgent priority.