Kelp goose / Kelpgans

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Kelp goose

Chloephaga hybrida

Kelpgans / Tanggans / Bernache antarctique

Kelp geese are member of the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae. It can be found in the Southern part of South America; in Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, and the Falkland Islands. Kelp geese inhabit areas of southern Chile and Argentina, mainly in Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, and the Falkland Islands. They habitat rocky coasts around their food sources; kelp.

Males are a white color, with a black beak, and yellow feet. The females are dark brown, with transverse gray lines on the chest, and yellow feet.

Two subspecies are described, the Lesser Kelpgoose (C. h. hybrida) and Falkland Kelpgoose (C. h. malvinarum). Only the Lesser Kelp goose is known to be bred in captivity, however, they are extremely rare birds in aviculture. From the late 1990's these birds were kept by a handful of aviculturists, but these birds seemed to be very sensitive and hard to breed succesfully.

Above: captive kelp geese in a private avicultural collection (Germany, 2016).

It has a very large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is very large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern (IUCN, 2009).