Wildlife, birds and whale of the Antarctic
Watching the wildlife, birds and whales of the Antarctic is not easy or cheap, but it is immensely rewarding for the lucky few that make it. Penguins and albatrosses, seals and elephant seals, and as many whales as anywhere in the world are all fantastic highlights, all set against a backdrop of towering blue ice and rugged mountains. The most important thing to check is the quality of the vessel you are travelling on, and the crew and specialists on board, price is not everything especially as very few people have the opportunity to travel here more than once.
There are several good operators. Don't go for the huge boats, they are not designed for this kind of travel. Anything too small can struggle in bad weather when crossing the Drake Passage, so something between 70 - 150 berths is ideal. Peregrine have excellent ships, Russian built ice-rated vessels with extra stability that are small enough to get into the bays and inlets most ships cannot.
Antarctic Wildlife Guide
This is a no brainer - the 'Complete Gide to Antarctic Wildllife' by Hadoram Shirihai is by far and away the best book. The clue is in the name, which, for once, is entirely true. This comprehensive guide to the mammals and birds of Antarctica is a must for anyone travelling to the region, and the region includes all the subantarctic islands from The Falklands to the Kerguelen Islands, via Tristan da Cunha, Prince Edward Island, Amsterdam Island, Chatham Island and the Islands to the south of New Zealand.
Click for more details of the book.
Recent Antarctic news
- Sea Shepherd Conservation Society announces new operation against Japanese whalers
- President Bush signs up to protect albatrosses
- Climate change may devastate penguin colonies
- Wildlife news RSS feed now available.
- Disappearing penguins set alarm bells ringing in the world’s oceans
- Critically endangered albatross thrown a lifeline by longline regulations
- Marine scientists marvel at vast "Brittlestar City” found on huge seamount in Antarctica
- Deep Sea Survey of Antarctic Finds New Sea Life
- Greenpeace & Sea Shepherd Confront Japanese Whaling Fleet in Southern Ocean.
- Antarctic Research Voyage Discovers New & Outsized Species
- New Fishing methods to Reduce Pacific Albatross Deaths by 90 Percent
- WWF release ground breaking Southern oceans report
- The latest update on the Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Oceans.
- Japan killed 263 pregnant whales in Antarctic waters
- Japanes whale hunt kills 224 pregnant mothers
More Antarctic news
- JAPANESE WHALING FLEET LOCATED AND FORCED TO RUN FROM SEA SHEPHERD
- Sea Shepherd Offers $25,000 Reward for Location of Japanese Whalers
- Rockhopper penguins in sharp, worrying decline.
- Waved albatross in danger.
- Albatrosses endangered on British Overseas territories.
- Antarctic Marine Explorers Reveal First Hints of Biological Change After Collapse of Polar Ice Shelves
- Japanese whaling fleet sails for the Antarctic
- Sea Shepherd Launches Campaign to Disrupt Japanese Whaling: Operation Migaloo
- Japan’s whaling fleet targeting Humpbacks for first time in more than 40 years.
- Japan Suspends Humpback Whale Hunt
- Call for urgent action after fishing vessel catches 12 critically endangered Chatham albatrosses
- Albatrosses on South Georgia in rapid decline.
- Four Arnoux’s Beaked Whales observed from Polarstern expedition
- Penguins being forced south by Antarctic warming
- Hundreds of new marine species discovered in the Antarctic
Related News Articles
The latest update on the Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Oceans.