South Shetland Islands
Coming to the Antarctic is like coming to another world. Fog marked the drop in surface water temperature from 7C to 2C, delineating the outer contour of the realm of the Antarctic.
Early this morning there were blows from big whales, perhaps fins or blue whales. If that wasn’t enough to thrill the ocean watchers the sounding of a sperm whale was. Our transition to this new world began to sink in. In the distance the South Shetland Islands, an archipelago first discovered in 1819 came into view. This is where the sealers hunted the fur seals almost to extinction. In spite of this the fur seals are making an amazing come back. As we came into the Aitcho Islands we saw leaping penguins and frolicking seals swimming. On shore we watched a male fur seal walk down the beach and swim away. The sun beat down and it was so warm that gentoo and chinstrap penguins were panting to try and keep cool. Elephant seals were throwing sand to protect their skin from the sun much like we might lather on sunscreen. Wildlife from the southern giant petrels to the more petite Pintado petrel were busy raising chicks.
One picture may be worth a thousand words and this picture summarizes our day. elephant seals were a sleepy and somewhat unsightly mess, snorting, complaining, and molting their old hair. The differences in color of their fur reflected not only how dry they were and individual variation, but their stage of molt. Their peeling fur looked like the seal was in some state of recovery from a bad sunburn. Their new sleek new gray coat of fur was starting be visible. gentoo chicks were plopped on the ground, sleeping and waiting for the next meal. Younger gentoo chicks had Mom or Dad home and were getting fed. The glaciers and snow covered peaks provided the backdrop and icebergs floated by changing every scene. If a picture is worth a thousand words we need thousands of more words to describe this world beyond the Drake.
Coming to the Antarctic is like coming to another world. Fog marked the drop in surface water temperature from 7C to 2C, delineating the outer contour of the realm of the Antarctic.
Early this morning there were blows from big whales, perhaps fins or blue whales. If that wasn’t enough to thrill the ocean watchers the sounding of a sperm whale was. Our transition to this new world began to sink in. In the distance the South Shetland Islands, an archipelago first discovered in 1819 came into view. This is where the sealers hunted the fur seals almost to extinction. In spite of this the fur seals are making an amazing come back. As we came into the Aitcho Islands we saw leaping penguins and frolicking seals swimming. On shore we watched a male fur seal walk down the beach and swim away. The sun beat down and it was so warm that gentoo and chinstrap penguins were panting to try and keep cool. Elephant seals were throwing sand to protect their skin from the sun much like we might lather on sunscreen. Wildlife from the southern giant petrels to the more petite Pintado petrel were busy raising chicks.
One picture may be worth a thousand words and this picture summarizes our day. elephant seals were a sleepy and somewhat unsightly mess, snorting, complaining, and molting their old hair. The differences in color of their fur reflected not only how dry they were and individual variation, but their stage of molt. Their peeling fur looked like the seal was in some state of recovery from a bad sunburn. Their new sleek new gray coat of fur was starting be visible. gentoo chicks were plopped on the ground, sleeping and waiting for the next meal. Younger gentoo chicks had Mom or Dad home and were getting fed. The glaciers and snow covered peaks provided the backdrop and icebergs floated by changing every scene. If a picture is worth a thousand words we need thousands of more words to describe this world beyond the Drake.
