King Haakon Bay, South Georgia Island
54°10’S 37°20’W
Ah, the balmy beaches of the “tropical” South Georgia welcomed us with a warm, sunny embrace today as we followed in the footsteps of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ill-fated journey of 1915-1916. Of course, balmy and warm can be relative terms. Although we found it noticeably warmer here on the NW side of South Georgia, it remains a heavily glaciated island, which still feels the icy caress of Antarctica throughout the winter. But this is late summer, and the island was basking in the glorious sunlight and warm breezes sweeping in from the Atlantic. For many of its residents, this is a time of relaxation and replenishment for the fast approaching winter.
This Southern elephant seal, though not likely to grace the swimsuit magazines anytime soon, finds these temperate days most appealing. This is a large male and is molting noticeably. The warm air and coarse tussock grass found abundant in these latitudes expedite this process considerably, and do much to ease the incessant itching experienced by the basking seals. However, too much of a good thing can be a nuisance as well. Due to their thick layer of insulation, the seals overheat easily, and can be found in huge wallows of mud and other pleasantries attempting to stay within a comfortable temperature range. Unlike the penguins, however, the seals can still go in and out of the water since their fur has evolved to largely superficial and functions only nominally as an insulator.
It is a hard life for these animals, especially the bulls, whose mortality rate is an astonishing 90% due to the immense stress incurred during the breeding season. For those few that succeed, however, the spoils are great indeed. Once, a male manages to secure a beach, it may mate with over 100 females in a little over a month, all the while defending against sneak attempts from other bulls. The strain is immense, and the bulls lose a considerable amount of weight during the mating season, thus they are in desperate need of some quality r&r by late summer.
These days the bulls cast lazy glances from underneath bloodshot eyelids at the curious new arrivals in red jackets. They are only mildly interested though, and are content to allow the paparazzi its photo ops as long as it doesn’t disrupt their slumber. Their cycle begins anew, and soon they’ll have to start packing on the pounds necessary to succeed in next years’ hedonism. Then, it’s spring break all over again.
54°10’S 37°20’W
Ah, the balmy beaches of the “tropical” South Georgia welcomed us with a warm, sunny embrace today as we followed in the footsteps of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ill-fated journey of 1915-1916. Of course, balmy and warm can be relative terms. Although we found it noticeably warmer here on the NW side of South Georgia, it remains a heavily glaciated island, which still feels the icy caress of Antarctica throughout the winter. But this is late summer, and the island was basking in the glorious sunlight and warm breezes sweeping in from the Atlantic. For many of its residents, this is a time of relaxation and replenishment for the fast approaching winter.
This Southern elephant seal, though not likely to grace the swimsuit magazines anytime soon, finds these temperate days most appealing. This is a large male and is molting noticeably. The warm air and coarse tussock grass found abundant in these latitudes expedite this process considerably, and do much to ease the incessant itching experienced by the basking seals. However, too much of a good thing can be a nuisance as well. Due to their thick layer of insulation, the seals overheat easily, and can be found in huge wallows of mud and other pleasantries attempting to stay within a comfortable temperature range. Unlike the penguins, however, the seals can still go in and out of the water since their fur has evolved to largely superficial and functions only nominally as an insulator.
It is a hard life for these animals, especially the bulls, whose mortality rate is an astonishing 90% due to the immense stress incurred during the breeding season. For those few that succeed, however, the spoils are great indeed. Once, a male manages to secure a beach, it may mate with over 100 females in a little over a month, all the while defending against sneak attempts from other bulls. The strain is immense, and the bulls lose a considerable amount of weight during the mating season, thus they are in desperate need of some quality r&r by late summer.
These days the bulls cast lazy glances from underneath bloodshot eyelids at the curious new arrivals in red jackets. They are only mildly interested though, and are content to allow the paparazzi its photo ops as long as it doesn’t disrupt their slumber. Their cycle begins anew, and soon they’ll have to start packing on the pounds necessary to succeed in next years’ hedonism. Then, it’s spring break all over again.
