Items17The creator’s order
  1. 1Gentoo penguinGentoo penguinLook for a bright orange-red bill and a white band across the crown. Gentoos breed on exposed ground at places such as Neko Harbour. From the vessel, you may see them passing in and out of the water along established routes between the shore and colony.0
  2. 2Leopard sealLeopard sealA leopard seal has a long head and a wide mouth, giving its profile a different shape from a Weddell seal’s rounded face. Scan the edges of floes as the boat moves through ice, or watch the surface near a penguin colony where these seals sometimes hunt.0
  3. 3Humpback whaleHumpback whaleHumpbacks feed around the western Antarctic Peninsula in summer, including in bays such as Wilhelmina. Look for the arching back and broad tail that may rise on a dive. The pattern on the underside of that tail is distinctive enough for researchers to recognize individual whales.0
  4. 4Pintado petrelPintado petrelAlso called the Cape petrel, this bird reveals a checkerboard of black and white on its back and wings when it banks. Watch the water near the ship on open stretches between landings, where its upperwing pattern is easier to see than when it sits on the waves.0
  5. 5Chinstrap penguinChinstrap penguinThe narrow black line under the jaw separates this penguin from the gentoo and Adélie. Half Moon Island in the South Shetlands has breeding chinstraps. Look up from the shore toward rocky ground to see how far these birds can climb to nest.0
  6. 6Adélie penguinAdélie penguinAn adult’s white eye ring stands out against a plain black head. Brown Bluff has breeding Adélies and gentoos, so it’s a useful place to compare the head patterns. Adélies come ashore to breed in the austral summer and spend the winter at sea in the pack-ice zone.0
  7. 7Weddell sealWeddell sealA rounded head, short muzzle, and blotchy gray coat help identify a Weddell seal resting near the coast. They’re associated with fast ice, the sea ice attached to land, and haul out around sites such as Neko Harbour.0
  8. 8Crabeater sealCrabeater sealA long, slender seal on a floe may be a crabeater, especially if its coat is pale. The name can send you in the wrong direction. It eats mainly krill, using the lobes of its interlocking teeth to strain the tiny crustaceans from seawater.0
  9. 9Southern elephant sealSouthern elephant sealLook for the sheer bulk of seals hauled out at Penguin Island in the South Shetlands. The hanging nose that gives the species its name develops in adult males. Females and younger seals can lie in the same area without that obvious feature.0
  10. 10Antarctic fur sealAntarctic fur sealLook for small ear flaps and long front flippers that lift the body off the ground. Antarctic fur seals come ashore on islands such as Half Moon, and some Peninsula sites see them more often late in the summer.0