Stanley, Falkland Islands
“Oooh, they are back again! Lindblad comes every summer! An invasion of red ‘penguins’ to our beach! I wonder why they always come during summer? Where do these red parka penguins breed? Why is it always adults arriving? Strange we never see any newly hatched chicks?! I guess they must breed way up north!”
Today we made our first land fall to the magical South Georgia. It was first explored and circumnavigated by James Cook in 1775 on the ship Resolution. We woke up at Elsehul and dropped our Zodiacs for a first encounter. This place really has everything South Georgia can offer; the beaches were literally packed by Fur Seals, King and Gentoo Penguins all trying to share the small space. The Macaroni penguins have been able to escape the hordes of Fur Seals by breeding on the steep slopes. Further up the tussock slopes three species of albatross had nesting colonies. In the water large numbers of Giant petrels patrolled to find any dying objects. These nasty looking and large petrels are the “vultures” of the Ocean.
Our next stop was a landing to one of the larger King penguin colonies in South Georgia, at Salisbury Plains. Now is the season for big chicks—large numbers of brownish “barrels” walking around. Yes, these fat penguin chicks have spent the whole winter at the beach, starving and waiting for their parents to return. This is the busiest time and we saw many chicks being fed by incoming parents. We also saw pups of Fur Seals, females relaxing and nursing, and large males defending the harem at the beach.
South Georgia is always something very special. Where in the world can you see 75,000 penguins together with Fur Seals and Elephant Seals in un-countable numbers? The island is named after George III, king of England at the time Cook arrived. The same king also gave the name to one of the states in the U.S.—Georgia. Shortly after the visit by Cook, the news about large numbers of seals spread to England and Northeast U.S. and great numbers of sealers arrived. After only about 30 years the Fur Seals were gone—killed for their pelts and most taken to China to trade for other goods. Later, the Elephant Seals became the main target as blubber for oil. During the years 1905-1971 South Georgia was the center for Antarctic whaling. The last time the island came into the headlines was 1982, during the Falkland Islands war (actually the conflict started at South Georgia).
Now South Georgia is a peaceful nature sanctuary… of course, “peaceful” does not take into account the endless battles between male Fur Seals or Elephant Seals— probably regarded by any visitor as one of the ten wonders on this planet. You have to come and see it with your own eyes!
“Oooh, they are back again! Lindblad comes every summer! An invasion of red ‘penguins’ to our beach! I wonder why they always come during summer? Where do these red parka penguins breed? Why is it always adults arriving? Strange we never see any newly hatched chicks?! I guess they must breed way up north!”
Today we made our first land fall to the magical South Georgia. It was first explored and circumnavigated by James Cook in 1775 on the ship Resolution. We woke up at Elsehul and dropped our Zodiacs for a first encounter. This place really has everything South Georgia can offer; the beaches were literally packed by Fur Seals, King and Gentoo Penguins all trying to share the small space. The Macaroni penguins have been able to escape the hordes of Fur Seals by breeding on the steep slopes. Further up the tussock slopes three species of albatross had nesting colonies. In the water large numbers of Giant petrels patrolled to find any dying objects. These nasty looking and large petrels are the “vultures” of the Ocean.
Our next stop was a landing to one of the larger King penguin colonies in South Georgia, at Salisbury Plains. Now is the season for big chicks—large numbers of brownish “barrels” walking around. Yes, these fat penguin chicks have spent the whole winter at the beach, starving and waiting for their parents to return. This is the busiest time and we saw many chicks being fed by incoming parents. We also saw pups of Fur Seals, females relaxing and nursing, and large males defending the harem at the beach.
South Georgia is always something very special. Where in the world can you see 75,000 penguins together with Fur Seals and Elephant Seals in un-countable numbers? The island is named after George III, king of England at the time Cook arrived. The same king also gave the name to one of the states in the U.S.—Georgia. Shortly after the visit by Cook, the news about large numbers of seals spread to England and Northeast U.S. and great numbers of sealers arrived. After only about 30 years the Fur Seals were gone—killed for their pelts and most taken to China to trade for other goods. Later, the Elephant Seals became the main target as blubber for oil. During the years 1905-1971 South Georgia was the center for Antarctic whaling. The last time the island came into the headlines was 1982, during the Falkland Islands war (actually the conflict started at South Georgia).
Now South Georgia is a peaceful nature sanctuary… of course, “peaceful” does not take into account the endless battles between male Fur Seals or Elephant Seals— probably regarded by any visitor as one of the ten wonders on this planet. You have to come and see it with your own eyes!
