While the ship had pre-planned excursions to a couple of penguin rookeries, most of the wildlife sighted was spontaneous. Members of the scientific team kept watch, and would excitedly announce over the PA system when something of interest was sighted. Seconds later, passengers would pour out of their cabins and find their favorite viewspot. It didn't take long – by 7:30am the morning of our arrival, we had announcements for whales off the back of the boat; then penguins swimming along side. Shortly thereafter, a couple different type of seals were alongside, relaxing on an ice floe.

More interestingly, we later saw a floe with a large number of penguins as well as their dreaded arch-predator, the leopard seal. This was puzzling until the biologist explained that leopard seals are faster than penguins only in the water. On land, the penguins can outrun the clumsy seal, and they both know it.

There were several types of birds sighted – the Antarctic cormorant looks similar to its tropical counterpart. The “bad guys” of the Antarctic bird world are the skuas – even their name sounds sinister. They harass the penguin rookeries, stealing eggs and even chicks, when they are small. Another trick is to harass the parent just as its about to regurgitate a meal, startling it into releasing the juicy krill onto the ground instead, where it is easily stolen. As for the flock of shearwaters chasing our ship (below, top center) -- the ship helps bring some tasty food up to the surface, and the birds don't mind not having to work so hard for their meal.

The only land-based life we saw were lichens – which look like iron stains on the rocks. No insects, no mosses. The only way to live down here is to earn your living from the sea – which means the krill, or something that eats krill... like penguins. At the "big creature" end of the scale, strangely enough, there are whales that eat seals -- as well as those that eat mostly krill.

Selected photos (click on any one to see a larger version)

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