Our first opportunity to land on South Georgia was in Right Whale Bay, on the morning of 5 March. The stony beach was home to several thousand King Penguins and hundreds of fur seals. We were able to wander among the seals, across the grass, and around the edges of the penguin colony, slopping through the mud, penguin guano, and wet rocks. The weather threw us a bit of everything – drizzle, flurries, sleet, sunshine, and a stiff wind bursting downslope from the glaciers above. We were dressed warmly and the excitement of meeting penguins face to face – quite literally – made for an exciting morning. Read on and don’t miss the gallery of photos and videos!
We donned our waterproof pants and boots, scrubbing them clean to avoid importing any seeds or pathogens, and climbed into Zodiac (inflatable motorboats) to make the short trip from ship to shore [video]. Once there, we hopped out of the boat into the shallow surf, surrounded by the king penguins and fur seals frolicking in the surf.
We stripped off our lifejackets – storing them in plastic barrels to keep them clean while on shore – and unpacked our waterproof camera bags. We were not allowed to sit, or set anything on the ground, to reduce the chance of depositing (or acquiring) seeds or pathogens that we might carry to another beach, or to another penguin colony. (Invasive species and diseases like avian flu can wreak havoc on these delicate ecosystems!) The fur seal pups were especially curious; they spend long days hanging out with their peers while their mothers are out at sea, fishing. I squatted low and waited, holding my camera at their eye level; soon, they would come investigate, sniffing the camera and peering closely. So would the penguins! This video shows both.
One of the other guests placed a GoPro camera on a tiny tripod, set it in the wet stones near the colony, and waited. It was not long before a King Penguin waddled over to investigate, pecking it to see what it might taste/smell like, and knocking the camera into the muck.
Wandering up and around the penguin colony gave us plenty of opportunities to watch the penguins – some brooding eggs tucked beneath their stomach and above their feet, some tending to brown puffy chicks, some wandering aimlessly in pairs or triples. King penguins have a long breeding cycle (14-16 months) so a pair can only raise two chicks every three years. As a result, colonies like this one tend to have a mix of adults and chicks, in various asynchronous stages of that cycle. According to our expedition guides, this colony includes 27,000 pairs – thus, nearly 80,000 penguins!
Be sure not to miss the gallery of photos and videos!
David Kotz 