Hydrurga Rocks, Gerlache Strait
Today we visited Hyrdurga Rocks. Hydrurga is the generic name of the leopard seal. Instead of leopard seals, however, we found several Weddell seals sleeping on the snow. They are so well insulated with their thick blubber layer that they can tolerate the most extreme cold, either on or under the ice. Some of us tested our own insulation, of the non-blubber variety, in order to get close to our photo trophies. Weddell seals are extremely streamlined and their torpedo shape allows them to swim very efficiently. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell one end from the other.
Today we visited Hyrdurga Rocks. Hydrurga is the generic name of the leopard seal. Instead of leopard seals, however, we found several Weddell seals sleeping on the snow. They are so well insulated with their thick blubber layer that they can tolerate the most extreme cold, either on or under the ice. Some of us tested our own insulation, of the non-blubber variety, in order to get close to our photo trophies. Weddell seals are extremely streamlined and their torpedo shape allows them to swim very efficiently. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell one end from the other.
