Jim Schroder's Travel

Home
Trips

Select Page

Antarctic

Fur seals usually dive to around 100 feet but can exceed 300 feet and remain submerged for up to five minutes.

On land they are able to bring their rear flippers under their body taking the bulk of their weight on their fore flippers. This allows them much more agility and speed on land.

Fur seals breed in male dominated groups or harems. The males can be fiercely aggressive toward rivals and human intruders alike.

When threatened they let you know it.

Close up of a group arriving by zodiac from the ship.

Check out the size of some of the whale vertebrae.

Remnants of whale bones in the foreground.

The bay we were anchored in.

In this photo you can see where zodiacs load and unload passengers at the aft, rear, part of the ship.

Gentoos feed on Rock Cod, Lanteren fish, krill and squid. They typically forage at sea close to the colonies.

Notice the small rocks in front of the nest placed by the male penguin.

Females tend to eat more krill than the males, while makes tend to eat more fish.

When penguins feel a little warm one of the methods they used to cool themselves is to extend their wings out at their sides allowing cool air to pass under the wings and cool their blood.

The chicks are fed frequently.

In September or October Gentoos generally lay two eggs three days apart from each other. The second egg is often smaller than the first. Both eggs are then guarded zealously by the parents until they hatch about 5 weeks later.

They are gregarious at sea, meaning they will form rafts of hundreds of individuals to aid in catcthing prey.

Here we have a father about to gather up a rock and take back to his nest.

Most prey is caught on shallow pursuit dives lasting only half a minute, although they can dive to a least 330 feet.

The contrast of the faded red shack and the black and white penguins makes for an interesting photo.

[Show slideshow]

◄ 1 2 3 4 ... 18 ►

© 2025 Jim Schroder