During our cruise we saw 3 varieties of seals: Fur, Crabeater, and Leopard. Contrary to their name these seals all make krill the bulk of their diet. All varieties have a single pup per year. The females mate almost immediately after giving birth but can hold the fertilized egg in suspended animation for a few months until the previously delivered pup is well on its way to independence.

Fur seals are the only variety of seal that can walk on all four limbs. As recent as 1933 it’s population was estimated at 60. Today after active protection, the population is estimated at 65,000.

Crabeater seals are probably the most common seal. Pups will only nurse for 3 weeks before being considered weaned. Their main enemies are Orcas (killer whales) and Leopard seals.

Leopard seals are usually only seen alone. While their main diet is krill, they have been know to eat Crabeater seal pups and young penguins for their blubber content. Little else is known about them.

And finally, yes this is another penguin picture. I just had to include it because it was so darn cute. Our next port after the Antarctic is the Falkland Islands.

Since 1961 Antarctica has been governed by the Antarctic Treaty System which sets aside Antarctica as an area for peaceful scientific endeavors with no nation having territorial rights. Territorial claims have been tabled at this time. 29 nations have established over 80 research stations conducting actual scientific programs. Additional treaties have dealt with environmental responsibilities of operational stations.

The United States has three research stations on Antarctica. While we never actually saw any of them, several staff members from the Palmer Station came to our ship by boat and gave presentations on the research being carried out. Most of which are sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

We were able to view several of these stations during the cruise. Some of them are quite huge. No matter the size, the Antarctic landscape dwarfs them all. And…they all have huge populations of penguins as guests so they all have quite a unique smell.

Port Lockerby – British
As we approached the Port Lockerby bay, it was almost impossible to see the buildings of the research station. Once you get closer, you can see the red-colored buildings.

González Videla – Chilean

Argentina’s Stations

Obviously, when you think of the Antarctic, you visualize ice. The Antarctic is the driest place on earth. This was difficult for me to grasp at first, since there is a lot of ice and snow. The truth is that it DOES snow here a little each year (very little) but since that snow does not melt, the snow accumulates and compresses. This compression results in the blue color. Highly compressed ice scatters the longer wavelengths of light (the red end of the spectrum) and transmits the shorter wavelengths (the blues). The beautiful blue color of the ice floats and icebergs comes from this scattering of light, but the snow and ice that we see can be thousands of years old.

One morning we opened the curtains at 6:00 a.m. and our entire window view was taken up with an iceberg that measured 120 feet tall! Here are two views of this iceberg. I wish there had been something nearby that would demonstrate the scale of this huge chunk of ice.

We saw several seals and penguins who jumped onto the ice floats to rest between feedings. As the salt water cools and freezes, the ice formed is less salty and the liquid water becomes more salty and sinks. This causes the nutrient-rich water below to be pushed to the surface. This is why we find animals in the areas with the sea ice forming. This is a picture that Ron captured of a Crabeater Seal on an ice float.

We never got tired of watching the beautiful shapes and variety of icebergs. It is also interesting to remember that 90% of the iceberg is hidden from view below the water. The one huge flat expanse of ice that four football fields could be placed on it. The ice below the water level that we cannot see sometimes hits the bottom of the ocean and the iceberg stays in one place. Other large icebergs are plotted with GPS and added to the navigational charts.

It is hard to photograph whales because you very seldom see their whole bodies. In fact Ron never did see a full body during this trip. Paul, however, happened to be looking in exactly the right spot at the right time and watched a humpback whale rise out of the water showing about 2/3rds of his (her) body. This is called breaching. We were privileged to see two different types of whales on this cruise: Orcas (killer whales) and Humpback.

Orcas (killer whales) – Apparently it is very rare to see these. A pod of six or seven swam in front of the ship for about 1/2 hour. They never did get really close.

Humpback – These were the most prolific of the whales that we saw and the most exciting. While the most we ever saw of these were their back and tails, they were still magnificent animals to watch. Most of the time they glided along the surface then slid gracefully underwater to feed. If they were diving deep, their tail was the last thing you saw of them for upwards of 1/2 an hour.

During the first 2 days of our Antarctica cruise we only sighted a random whale here and there around the ship. On the third day we saw two amazing things: sleeping whales (who knew?) and a whale feeding frenzy!

I personally have never given a thought to whales sleeping but here they were in Charlottes Bay… 5 or 6 whales, looking like floating logs.

Then we sailed to Hughes Bay. Immediately we saw multiple whale spouts. At one time or another there were upwards of 15 whales in the ship’s vicinity, most in clusters of three or four whales. They swam together, performing deep dives, and with a coordinated effort, “corralled” the krill (small aquatic animals; their food) and then breaking to the surface gathering huge mouthfuls of the krill and straining the krill as they surfaced. We watched this dance for at least 2 hours. Fascinating. After this we sailed away still sighting whales feeding an hour later. A terrific day!

One could never imagine the number of penguins there are in the Antarctic. At the Argentinian Research station we saw over 100,000! But long before you see these cute and appealing little animals, you smell them (think overflowed toilet stool on a hot summer day. Ugh!).

We often saw groups of penguins ( a group is called a “raft”) porpoising through the water using a swimming method similar to dolphin/porpoises.

During our visit to the Antarctic region, we saw 4 different types of penguins: Magellanic, Gentoo, King, and Adélie. Unfortunately we didn’t see any of the rather unique Emperor, Chinstrap, Macaroni, or Rockhopper varieties.

Magellanic – These little guys are the most conspicuous of the penguins and mostly inhabit the warmer areas of the tip of South America. They are different from the others in that they dig burrows into the ground for living/mating. The males are the first to arrive at their home island and quickly begin digging their burrow. By the time the females arrive, the burrow is ready and the honeymoon begins. The female usually lays two eggs. Chicks hatch about 40 days later. Chicks are ready to leave the nest in about 60 to 70 days.

Gentoo – These penguins live mostly on the Antarctic peninsula and are the least aggressive and have a bright orange beak with a white patch on their heads. Unlike other varieties, they do not migrate during winter/summer. They do not dig burrows. The females lay 2 eggs and incubate them for around 35 days. Once hatched, the parents take turns feeding the chicks for an additional 80 days.

King – These are the biggest penguins that we saw on our trip. They are a spectacular bird with splashy orange feathers. Their docile nature make them a favorite among tourists. The are second in size only to their cousins, the Emperor penguins. The females lay a single egg which is kept propped on their feet and covered with their bellies. Incubation takes 56 days and up 14 months before the chick becomes independent.

Adélie – These penguins are your typical looking penguins with their black and white “suits”. They favor feeding areas around icebergs. From what we saw, they seem to be very skittish. When the ship got close, they all dived into the water. They lay two eggs. Incubation takes 35 days and the chicks become independent in 50 days.