15th March – Penguin Paradise
Today was another day of surprisingly good weather! We started off on watch early this morning, before most of the ship was awake. We didn’t see much in the way of 
wildlife, but the brilliant sunrise over the ice-capped peaks of the Antarctic Peninsula made up for that. Our first landing today was at Petermann Island, home to a large colony of Gentoo penguins (with a few lone Adelies mixed in), and of course the ever-present leopard seals. We took CTD and hydrophone measurements in the bay, then landed on the island to see the penguins. They were everywhere! It was a great opportunity to just sit and watch them go about their penguin business. They 
were so cute as they waddled about, especially the fledging chicks. The chicks are very indecisive; it takes at least 10 of them to decide which direction to go! It wasn’t all peaceful for them, however, and we experienced the dark side of life on the penguin colony when we witnessed a leopard seal sneak into the shallow water playground and snatch a young penguin during its first bath. The penguin never saw it coming, the seal was far too clever. It was fascinating watching the seal pretending to be a rock as it crept in and grabbed the penguin swiftly from behind. None of the other penguins seemed to notice the drama going on just a few centimetres away from them! The seal then carried the penguin (still alive) in its jaws out to deeper water, played it like a cat 
plays with a mouse with it for a while before killing and then processing it (literally shaking the body out of its feather-clad skin). Gruesome but fascinating to watch! As we were leaving, we had another leopard seal encounter right next to our zodiac. This time the lucky penguin got away, but it was incredible to see a leopard seal hunt in action so close!
We continued north, sailing back through the mountain-flanked 
Lemaire Channel. There was no wind and the water was smooth as glass, perfect for spotting animals in the water. It was almost eerily quiet and still, a mask over the sheer power of the landscape. The channel was alive with wildlife though, mainly crabeater seals hauled out on ice, but also several leopard seals. Minke and humpback whales were also commonly seen. We stopped for the afternoon at Port Lockroy, a former British Base and now a fascinating museum maintained by the British Antarctic Heritage Trust. Lockroy is situated on a very small island surrounded by a dramatic glacier landscape. Some of us went out in the zodiac to make a number of CTD measurements around the island and in front of the glacier. We then sat foot ashore to explore the base. The building which houses the museum (and the southern-most post office in the world – unfortunately this was closed so late in the season) is entirely surrounded by a colony of very friendly Gentoo penguins. It was fascinating to see how people working the station would have lived and how they could have survived in a place that remote with very limited supplies and technology. The main highlight of Port Lockroy was the penguins which were not afraid of humans at all. If you sat or stood still for a moment, you were surrounded by curious chicks, some even trying to see if your backpack or camera (or anything that moved, really!) was edible. It was so neat to be able to interact with them and become a part of their world, if only for a few minutes. Many of the penguins were still moulting, and looked quite scruffy! We were even able to see a couple of parent penguins feeding their chicks regurgitated krill – a very cool experience. I think the penguin interactions were the highlight of most people’s day, but we did eventually have to leave and keep heading north through the dramatic icescapes of the Neumayer Channel. There was so much to take in, and there were so many seals to spot that it was hard to leave the bridge when we were called for dinner. It’s hard to believe that tomorrow is our last landing day before heading back across the Drake!
(Jeanne, MRes student)