CATCHING UP! Cape Royds

Hey Family and Friends,

Here are a few shots of Penguins! Everybody's favorite when you think of Antarctica. I was sent out to Cape Royds where some penguin studies are done. It was Summer's end and we took down the large tent that was shelter for the scientists.

Royds is a smaller colony of about 1000 Adelie Penguins. This is where they meet to mate, incubate their egg, and then fish for food for their young chicks. The location is a rocky outcrop that is more snow free where the sea ice opens up earlier.

These guys are less than half the height of Emperor Penguins, but they make up for it with more personality.

I found finally seeing penguins to be anticlimatic until I sat down to watch for at least an hour. The social hierarchy, the demanding adolescent chicks chasing the adults around, and the bold chicks chasing off marauding skua seagulls were worth the patience.

And later I was able to see them swim in groups as they fished. They shift from foolish characters to graceful torpedos. When they dive, penguins are able to go without oxygen more than seals or any other known diving predator. They store oxygen in their muscle tissues and shunt blood away from organs that we humans would not dare to deprive (brain, heart, lungs). They would not survive at the high latitudes of Antarctica (about 80 degrees South) without these awesome adaptations.

Penguins!

This Adelie was about a quarter mile from the colony. Young adult penguins wander on land and by water for great distances (100 miles or more). Many do not survive the exploration, but a few find new areas for fishing or breeding. It's an evolutionary force that works for the whole but not all the individuals. Most young adults of birds and mammals species do the same. Especially us young humans--just look at all the vagabonds working in McMurdo.

As we walked the coast line I noticed a BIG iceberg (probably a 1000 ft thick and a half mile in diameter.) It was a remant chunk of B15 that had blocked McMurdo Sound, and it was now drifting free like a mountain on the move. It made for a nice backdrop for the gratuitious self portrait.

These are the days that make the work worthwhile.

Cheers,
Ben