Penguins are one of the Antarctic's iconic images instantly recognisable as a symbol of Antarctica, and of cold, icy places – images which blockbuster films like Happy Feet and March of the Penguins have capitalised well on. Many cruise ships visit the Antarctic Peninsula to see the real-life penguins that such films represent, but this is far from the only place in Antarctica to see penguins. This article lists some of the Adelie penguin colonies that visitors to the Antarctic are most likely to see around the Ross Sea, which is one of the most important penguin breeding areas in Antarctica.
Adelie Penguins in the Ross Sea – the Cape Royds Adelie Penguin Colony
At 77º 33’ S / 166º 10’ E, Cape Royds is the worlds southernmost Adelie penguin colony, and is also thought to be one of the smallest Adelie colonies. It is located on Ross Island in McMurdo Sound, and is usually accessed by helicopter from the icebreaker, then a short walk. A visit to this colony is usually combined with a visit to Shackleton's Nimrod Hut.
According to Penguinscience (a small group of scientific researchers that have monitored this penguin colony for several seasons), between 2000 and 2010 the number of nesting pairs has dropped from 4000 breeding pairs to just over 2000. They believe this is directly the result of the calving of the B-15 iceberg from the Ross ice Shelf in March 2000, as in the years immediately following the calving, much greater quantities of summer fast ice tended to remain in the McMurdo Sound bay. (2009-2010 being perhaps an exception to the trend).
When there are large quantities of sea ice in McMurdo Sound, this results in the Cape Royds colony being a great distance from open water, and like many other species of penguins, Adelie penguins need a reasonably short walk to the sea for when their chicks are fledging.
Adelie Penguins in the Ross Sea – the Cape Hallett Adelie Penguin Colony
Cape Hallett is on the eastern side of the Ross Sea and is located at 72°19'S 170°16'E. It is home to a large Adelie penguin Colony, with more than 65,000 breeding pairs of penguins nesting here during the breeding season. Access is only by zodiac or (very rarely) a walk from a "garaged" icebreaker in fast sea ice, as there is nowhere available to land a helicopter far enough from the penguin colony to avoid disturbing them.
Adelie Penguins in the Ross Sea – the Cape Adare Adelie Penguin Colony
Cape Adare is at the furthest south-east point of the Ross Sea, and is located at 71º 19’ S / 170º 10’ E. Based on this colony, Adelie penguins really ought to be renamed mountaineering penguins! The Adelie colony at Cape Adare is the worlds largest Adelie penguin colony, with more than 250,000 breeding pairs of Adelie penguins nesting here during the breeding season. The colony covers the fairly short but flat coastal plain, and extends from sea level to an altitude of more than 300m up the steep cliffs behind.
The colony is accessed either by zodiac onto Ridley Beach, or sometimes it is possible to walk 1km or so from the icebreaker across fast ice in Robertson Bay.
None of these colonies are easy to reach, and even if they are included on the itinerary of an Antarctic cruise boat, travellers should be aware that weather conditions can often mean a planned visit to any particular colony becomes impractical. The Kapitan Khlebnikov (which is chartered by Quark Expeditions) is one of the best-equipped boats to reach these colonies, but even this icebreaker cannot guarantee a visit, and sadly is due to leave tourist-carrying duties to return to full-time industrial use in January 2012.
Chiz Dakin - A keen mountain walker, scrambler, cyclist and occasional climber and sea kayaker for several years, Chiz Dakin has carried a camera with ...
