Leopard Seal Eating a… ?

Ocean Tramp – Jenny Varley

We have experienced very variable weather over the past few days, ranging from gale force winds with rain to flat calm, windless conditions but with thick fog.  Fortunately we also had a few windows where both weather conditions and wildlife co-operated.  Near the entrance to the Lemaire Channel Niall spotted a Leopard Seal in the water with what he thought was a penguin carcass.  It was much more interesting than that though, as its kill was a seal, almost certainly a young Crabeater.  As it thrashed around tearing chunks off the carcass many tens of Wilson’s Storm  Petrels enjoyed the scraps and we watched these dainty birds dancing on the surface of flat calm water with perfect reflections.  We landed at Pléneau Island to view the Gentoo colony there, but as we repositioned in the afternoon we were once again in dense fog and cameras were put away to keep them dry.

Yesterday we reached our farthest south, the Yalour Islands.  We were the first people to visit this archipelago so far this season, and it was worth the effort of climbing uphill through quite deep snow on the largest island to access the Adelie Penguin colony.  The colony is spread over many raised rocky outcrops as well as numerous islets in the archipelago and there was much activity and many chicks.  Yesterday the weather was overcast and foggy so it was not possible to see much of the stunning scenery surrounding the islands, but we were able to revisit today in much more favourable conditions, in fact it was perfect for photography with high cloud but no fog and no wind.  It was such a privilege to be here with just four people ashore, the other half of the group enjoying a RIB cruise around the many stunning icebergs.  Everyone enjoyed the antics of the Adelie Penguins, although isolating a family group from the colony, as well as wanting clean penguins was certainly challenging!  The RIB cruises were a huge success.

One group concentrated on the amazing icebergs and there were many to choose from.  The colours and textures had those interested in landscapes/icescapes positively drooling!  The other group was more wildlife focused,
successfully finding penguins and seals on ice, and then most memorable of all, a Humpback Whale that gently swam around the RIB three or four times when we had turned our engine off.

Blog & photo: Jenny Varley