During the 2009–2010 breeding season, a small group of penguins appeared on the shores of Bahía Inútil in Chile’s Tierra del Fuego, creating what would one day become the only established king penguin colony in South America. Former kindergarten teacher and local landowner Cecilia Durán began protecting the king penguins when human disturbance put the birds at risk. Eventually, she fenced off 30.4-hectare (about 75-acre) of her farm and helped establish the Reserva Natural Pingüino Rey . According to the reserve, the first group numbered around 90 birds, but repeated disturbance reduced the number to just eight. However, today, the colony has grown to nearly 200.
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