Antarctic wildlife

(Pygoscelis adeliae)

The Adelie is the archetypical penguin, named after French explorer Dumont D’Urville’s wife. They are purely black and white, with a characteristic angular head, a distinctive white eye-ring and a tiny bill. Females are smaller in size, but like all penguins, the sexes are alike. The downy chick is uniformly grey.

(Pygoscelis antarctica)

Chinstraps are similar to Adelies, being black and white, but they are slightly smaller and have a distinctive black line connecting the black cap to the part below the chin. The chicks are uniform brownish-grey and paler below. In average, the female is smaller in the size of the flipper and bill length. They are highly gregarious and monogamous. It is believed they form long-lasting pair bonds. They nest in the Antarctic Peninsula area and on Subantarctic Islands. Their population is estimated in 7.5 million pairs, being the second larger Antarctic inhabitants after the Gentoo penguins.

(Eudyptes chrysolopus)

This beautiful penguin has characteristic orange tassels meeting between the eyes that distinguishes this species from it’s relative which is slightly smaller, the rock hopper penguin. Macaronis nest mainly on Subantarctic islands close to the Antarctic Convergence and may reach as far south as the Antarctic Peninsula. They lay 2 eggs at the end of the Southern autumn, the first being larger than the second. Chicks are uniform brownish-grey above and whitish below.

(Pygoscelis papua)

Gentoo is the largest of all Pygoscelis penguins. It can be easily recognised by the wide white stripe extending like a bonnet across the top of its head and the red bill. Chicks have grey backs with white fronts. They are the fastest underwater swimming penguins, reaching speeds of 36 km/h. They feed mainly on krill, but also on fish and squid. They are the most numerous penguins nesting in the Antarctic region.

(Lobodon carcinophagus)

They are comparatively slim and flexible, typically with an elongated, square-shaped head, protruding dog-like snout, a longer mouth opening and flippers proportionately larger than Weddell Seals. Their eyes are dark and small. Their coloration is predominantly dark brown dorsally becoming blond ventrally with a marked seasonal and individual variation in coat colour. With age, fur gradually becomes uniformly blond after moult. Many are deeply scared on the back and body-sides due to attacks of Leopard Seals and Killer Whales. Crabeaters actually eat krill, not crabs as their name suggests. Males reach about 3.0 metres and   females are slightly smaller; they can weight from 180 to 410 kg.

(Leptonychotes weddelli)

This species was not discovered until 1823 when Captain James Weddell captured six specimens during his voyage to the South Pole. They are amongst the largest and fattest seals, with proportionately small flippers and heads, and large dark eyes. Both sexes are similar in size and appearance, but females are generally slightly larger, and males have thicker necks and broader heads. They reach 2.5 – 3.0 metres and weight 400 – 600 kg. They have a short dense coat of a dark bluish-grey colour which is irregularly streaked. They can become browner prior to moult.

(Mirounga leonina)

The Southern Elephant Seal is the world’s largest seal. It is a heavily built, long body seal with proportionately small flippers and some skin folds just behind the head. The dark eyes are large and round. The adults have short stiff hair, usually dark grey dorsally and paler ventrally. Males have squarer and larger heads, with a conspicuous proboscis, while females have more rounded heads with no proboscis. Breeding males may weigh up to sixth that of a breeding female. Males reaching 4.5 – 6.5 metres and a 3.700 kg; female 2.5 – 4.0 metres and 359 – 800 kg.

(Hydrurga leptonix)

They have long slims bodies with an almost serpentine appearance and comparatively large reptilian heads with a long fore face/snout, powerful jaws, broad gape and relatively small dark eyes. Fore flippers are rather large, situated near the centre of the body. With dark on the back, almost black or blue – grey on the flanks, and paler ventral coloration; a dark area variably spotted with darker grey. They have very long canine teeth, with long pointed cusps on its molar teeth. Females are larger than males (3.8 metres and 500 kg compared to 2.8 – 3.8 metres and 300 kg).

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(Megaptera novaengliae)

Humpbacks may be recognized by their enormous flippers, which can reach a third of their total body length. They are normally black but the undersides of flippers and flukes have varying amounts of white and can be used as aids for individual recognition. They measure 11 – 19 metres and weight 25.4 – 35.5 tonnes, males being usually slightly shorter than females.

(Orcinus orca)

The Orca is the largest member of the dolphin family, and it is probably the most easily recognized of all cetaceans. The most obvious feature is the enormous dorsal fin, which is the tallest and most pointed of any cetaceans. In adult males it may stand 2 meters in height, while in females and immature males it is more curved and smaller. They have a striking black and white pattern, with throat to abdomen, some of their flanks and a oval blaze behind the eye white, with the rest mainly black. The huge conical head is pointed with very slightly rounded beak. Males can reach 7 – 9 metres and weigh 3.8 – 5.5 tonnes; females are noticeably smaller in overall body size reaching 5.0 – 7.7 metres length.

(Thalassarche melanophris)

The Black-browed albatross is one of the smaller black and white ´mollymawks´ with a pale head. This albatross can be identified at a distance by its underwing pattern featuring a wide dark leading edge. At close range, the adult birds have a yellow eye that makes identification easy.

Size 80 – 96 cm / Wing 50 – 56 cm / Wingspan 210 – 250 cm / Weight 2.9 – 4.6 kg.

(Diomedea exulans)

The Wandering Albatross is the largest bird of the Southern Ocean. In all stages adult birds appear very white on the body and upperwings, becoming even pure white with age. They have dark vermiculations on the body and upperwings. Juveniles have long wings and a long body; overall blackish chocolate-brown, but contrasting white face from forehead to upper foreneck, and white underwing.

Size 110 – 135 cm / Wing 62 – 79 cm / Wingspan 250 – 350 cm / Weight 6.3 – 11.3 kg.

(Phalacrocorax bransfieldensis)

There is no clear agreement on how many species of cormorants inhabit the southern islands and the Antarctic Peninsula. There could be as many as seven or as few as two, surrounding Antarctica, depending on what taxonomic levels the different populations are differentiated. All are reasonably similar, but the Antarctic Shag is unmistakable in range because no other blue-eyed shag overlaps with it. They are rather large, they have a black and white shag, with a bright blue eyed-ring, with a long wispy black erectile crest.

Size 77 cm / Wing 32 – 33 cm / Weight 2.5 – 3.0 kg.

(Chionis alba)

The Sheathbill is a medium-sized, plump hen-like, all white bird. They are not seabirds, for example because their feet are not webbed, but are in their own family, akin to waders. They cannot be mistaken for anything else as they strut and squabble around penguin colonies. Monogamous and pair-bond permanently, they have elaborate courtship displays. Two eggs are laid in October to March, from where they scavenge widely on eggs, spilled food being fed to chicks, and carcasses killed by giant petrels. They also feed on intertidal life and on invertebrates

Size 34 – 40 cm / Wingspan 70 cm / Weight 400 – 700 gr.

(Macronectes giganteus)

Giant Petrels are the largest of the petrel family, which goes to make up the order of tubenose or procellariiform seabirds, along with albatrosses, shearwaters, storm petrels and diving petrels. The crucial feature used to distinguish the northern giant petrel from the closely related southern giant petrel is the colour of the bill tip: reddish-brown in the northern, and greenish in the southern. This characteristic is not always easy to spot at sea. Some Southerns are all white, except for the odd dark feathers. This colour phase does not occur in Northerns, helping with specific identification. White phase Southerns are more common at southerly breeding sites, and are absent at the Northerly ones.

Size 85 – 100 cm / Wing 46 – 58 cm / Wingspan 150 – 210 cm / Weight 3.8 – 5 kg.

(Dapion capense)

The cape petrel is an unmistakable medium sized petrel, with round head and highly distinctive black and white upperparts and upperwing, smaller than the Antarctic petrel. Its speckled appearance has earned its other common name, pintado, which means ´painted´ in Spanish. The cape petrel has a circumpolar distribution at sea. It has a wide breeding range from the Antarctic continent to the more southerly Subantarctic islands where it breeds in November and December in loose colonies on level rocky grounds or gravel, and moderately high cliffs.

Size 35 – 42 cm / Wing 24 – 28 / Wingspan 80 – 91 cm / Weight 440 – 500 gr.

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(Catharacta sp.)

The Polar Skua is able to fly furthest south than all other Antarctic birds. It is light brown in colour with a yellow neck. Whilst flying, you can see a lighter band that crosses the lower surface of the wings. It has a dark beak which is curved at the end. Feet are dark grey and almost black.