Happy Easter! May there always be songbirds in your life.
Okay, it’s confession time. I’m directionally challenged, but I’m getting out my maps of the world. Will you be my witness and travel companion? From Georgia to Gallup, Greece to Gibraltar, I’m determined to go to my grave without taking another wrong turn.
Can you name a place where a flock of these …
Might be seen grazing alongside a flock of THESE?
Kooky, right?
Here’s a hint from Modern Farmer: “Home to around 3,000 people and roughly half-a-million sheep, [this] British territory is a major wool producer. Besides being one of the only places in the world where sheep and penguins routinely share pasture, [this place] bears the distinction as the nation with the highest percentage of certified organic land.”
If you’re thinking New Zealand …
You’re close—well, hemispherically speaking, anyway—but no cigar, sister.
The location where sheep and cattle share space with penguins (and occasional beached sea lions) is some 5,200 ocean miles east of New Zealand, just around the tip of South America’s Cape Horn:
The Falkland Islands.
“You’ll see sheep walking right through the middle of the penguin colony, and the penguins don’t even turn a head,” Falkland farmer Mike Rendell told Modern Farmer with a chuckle. “You don’t see a cow going up and licking a penguin or anything like that, they just get on with their own lives. They don’t seem to have any issues at all.”
Plan a farm stay in this unusual destination at FalklandIslands.com.
I love trivia! This is interesting to me, thanks! I would have never guessed.
This is so interesting! I have never really heard anything about the Faulkland Islands before. With it ‘s remoteness, it must be beautifully untouched by over development.
5,200 miles east of New Zealand, huh? That’s a whole lotta water…
Ah MaryJane, I see you are following my advice and reading Modern Farmer, my favorite guilty pleasure after your blog here.
Yeah I really got a kick out of the penguins and sheep thing together. When I was sailing near there and eventually through the Magellan straits, I saw all the penguins I ever need to see for an entire lifetime !!
My sister was in NOAA and was stationed in Antarctica for 2 years! She got sick of penguins too.
I would never expect to see a flock of penguins alongside a flock of sheep. Whenever I think of penguins I think of snow, ice, and freezing weather, not grassy lands. This is an interesting find! I also haven’t heard anything about the Falkland Islands. I bet it’s a beautiful place.
The only reason I know of the Falklands is because of the war which happened between the U.K. and Argentina about 30 years ago! I think it looks like a great place to visit
We learn something new everyday. I would have never thought that sheep, cows and penguins would ever reside in the same area together.
Ohhh, my wonderful sweet American Robin!!! I feel a very deep connection with Robins having helped raise a baby that fell from the nest too early. We built a cage for it in our dining room from chicken wire once it was ready to hop and try and fly. Once it could fly, we released him to a friend’s home that had a bird sanctuary on their land. They claim the Robin came and lived around there for several years. Cheep, Cheep!!