Susan R. Eaton
February 27, 2010

Antarctica: Dispatch Number Seven

We experienced three amazing days at South Georgia, and are currently
enroute to Ushuaia, Argentina. The South Atlantic Ocean crossing will
take four days. Reflecting upon our previous ocean crossing, the
majority of the Elysium Explorers have visited the ship’s doctor who has
been busy administering anti-motion medications.

During the four-day crossing, Explorers will attend lectures on the
history of Antarctic exploration, climate change, and the flora and
fauna of Antarctica and South Georgia. Also, during the crossing, the
Scientific Crew will continue its krill studies, deploying the plankton
net, the holocam and the Video Plankton Recorder.

Yesterday, the deployment of the oceanographic equipment caused quite a
commotion on the high seas: within minutes of deploying the plankton
net, 25 albatrosses, the world’s largest sea birds with wing spans of
three metres, surrounded the net. Albatrosses live in the open ocean,
returning to land every five years to mate, and to raise their young.
When the net was hauled in – containing plankton-sized critters and not
the albatrosses’ diet of fish and krill – the sea birds quickly departed
for better fishing grounds. Before their departure, however, we captured
some amazing photographs and video of Black Browed, Sooty and Wandering
albatrosses.

Prior to our arrival at South Georgia – and according to government
regulations – we vacuumed our camera bags, jackets, pockets, hats,
mitts, and any other items we intended to take ashore. Visitors to
Antarctica and South Georgia are also required to scrub down their boots
with disinfectant, both before and after shore excursions. These
measures are intended to prevent the introduction and spread of
non-native animals, plants, bacteria, and disease. As more visitors
travel to Antarctica and South Georgia, such preventative measures are
critical to preserving this fragile ecosystem and its endemic species.

While in South Georgia, we visited Salisbury Plain, home to King
penguins and Fur seals. One of the world’s largest concentrations of
wildlife, Salisbury Plain ranks – in terms of its sheer bio-mass – with
Africa’s Serengeti Plain. About 300,000 King penguins live on Salisbury
Plain. The colony extends beyond the plain and up the side of a steep
hill, ensuring that huge storm surges don’t destroy the colony.
Salisbury Plain is also a nursery for thousands of Fur seals – the small
pups, born in November, were already swimming and frolicking in the surf
zone, side-by-side with the penguins.

The noise, sights and smells emanating from the King penguin colony
created a sensory overload for wildlife viewers – in fact, the smell of
penguin guano followed us back to the ship and into our cabins, as the
keenest photographers got horizontal to capture the best shots.
Due to its vast expanse, it’s virtually impossible to photograph the entire Salisbury Plain
colony. The solution, I determined, was to rest in one place, and to let
the action come to me. While watching and waiting, I decided to strike
some yoga poses – in a Zen-like moment – with a back-drop of some
300,000 curious penguins providing context for the photographs…

I was particularly fascinated by the great distances that the King
penguins travel, daily, to fish for krill. By my reckoning, it took me
30 minutes to walk from the beach to the centre of the penguin colony.
Given that penguins move slowly – waddling and hopping over rocks –
their round-trip daily pilgrimage to the ocean is staggering, both in
terms of time elapsed and calories expended. The Elysium Explorers
documented mating pairs of penguins, and penguins who were incubating
eggs; one Explorer photographed the birth of a chick, as it pecked its
way out of an egg. We also observed young chicks cradled in their
mothers’ feet, and moulting chicks in the ‘ugly duckling’ or transition
stage to adult plumage.

Overhead, flying at low levels, numerous Skuas patrolled the colony,
waiting for an opportunity to feast upon unprotected penguin chicks or
dead carcasses. Even in a colony this large, parents can recognize their own chicks’
voices above the ruckus of 300,000 animals – the chicks call frequently,
at a pitch which seems almost hysterical. We observed hungry chicks
chasing any adults who had returned from sea with food. Further, we
noted that these adults (not the chicks’ parents) simply outran the
aggressive and hungry chicks.

Despite our attempts at conforming to the five-metre rule for wildlife
viewing in Antarctica and South Georgia, the penguins constantly
surrounded us, approaching to within a couple of feet. Apparently
curious, the penguins used their beaks to investigate the legs of
photographic tripods or the contents of camera bags left on the ground.
The Fur seal pups were also curious, surrounding the photographers while
at the same time, burping or barking at us. It’s amazing that such small
pups have such large barks…