Wildlife in Antarctica

Antarctica
February 28th 2007

Published: March 16th 2007

Wildlife
The quantity of wildlife is amazing. We took a zodiac around after the kayak race and had 2 humpback whales playing with our boat. We were close enough to touch them as they dove under the boat and swam around us, blowing each time they surfaced. On shore we wandered among schools of Adele and Gentee penguins so thick it was impossible to keep the prescribed 15 foot keep away distance. The penguins were not worried provided you moved slowly. Some were even curious and came over to examine our boots or water pants.
On another occasion we spent 45 minutes watching a leopard seal play with a penguin he had caught the way a cat will play with a caught mouse. The seal carried the squawking penguin around in his mouth displaying it for all to see then release it so a chase ensured. Twice the bird made it onto a block of floating ice. The first time the ice was too small and the seal overturned it dumping the penguin back in. The second time the ice was too large for that but the seal came up on the ice and chased the bird back in. The ultimate

Fur seal

outcome was never in doubt. Forget the seals balancing balls on their nose in the circus. A leopard seal is a 900 pound highly maneuverable torpedo with large canines. They eat the penguin whole, first skinning it by jerking it up in the air and ripping off its skin in one yank. We saw penguin pelts floating in the water. That being said, they only attack the inexperienced young penguins at the end of the breeding season; the seal’s main diet is krill an animal which looks like a shrimp unless you are another krill. They have been know to attack people, though rarely.
We assumed the leopard seals would leave us alone when we decided to take a swim on the beach before dinner. This time we didn’t use the dry suits so it was a much chillier experience running in over the rocky shore swimming out and back then drying off before the boat ride back. The freezing salt water more stuns you than feeling cold. My feet hurt like heck from the rocks, though. With many of us going in the ice water it wasn’t a pretty sight! We also were sobered to sight a leopard seal

Leopard seal gets a penguin

there a few minutes later.
The zodiac ride back to the ship put me in the mood for a scotch on the rocks. In this case the rock was a piece of 1000 year old glacier ice we rescued from the bay. We spent the evening watching humpback whales spouting around the bay and some of us tried to win back money at poker.

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