VT College of Science Quarterly August 2014 Vol. 2 No. 1 | Page 7

We also played in the snow at Almirante
Brown Station. There was a very steep mountain that some were able to climb. From the
top, there were several paths that allowed one
to slide down which was a lot of fun! After two
hours on the continent, we went back to ship
for lunch before our next excursion.
We then traveled to González Videla Antarctic Base (64o49’S 62o52’W), which is a Chilean
base. Here we saw another colony of Gentoo
Penguins, however, this one contained an
interesting penguin. It was a leucistic penguin,

which was blonde due to the lack of black
pigment. At this same location was a Weddell
Seal, which was asleep among the penguins.
On the zodiac excursion to the Chilean base,
there were reports of a leopard seal spotting.
It was only when we were just about to return
to the Vavilov that we saw it. He caught a penguin and was in the process of eating it. While
it was sad, penguins are an important food
source for leopard seals and it was amazing to
witness the behavior firsthand.
Back onboard the Vavilov, we attended a

Photo by Lori Blanc

wildlife list update with Beck and Boyes to
document the wildlife we had observed. We
did this daily, as our research project required
we collect data for the duration of the trip.

Dec. 24:

It’s Christmas Eve on the Vavilov! Our first excursion was to Cierva Cove (64o9’ S 60o53’W)
where we spent two hours zodiac cruising
through the area. Several groups saw a leopard
seal stalk an Adelie penguin that was trapped
on an iceberg.
During this outing, we saw sea growler ice
that the expedition staff said could be over
60,000 years old. This ice is particularly interesting, because it has had almost all air pockets
pushed out of it over time, causing it to melt
slower than new ice. We also saw blue ice,
which is blue because the red wavelengths are
reflected, causing the human eye to see blue.
On our next excursion, we went to Mikkelsen Harbour (63o54’S 60o47’W). Here, we
saw several Weddell seals. One seal that was
quietly napping took notice of the tour group,
but did not seem bothered by the attention.
This seal made a large effort to turn around
and then went back to sleep. Weddell seals are
large creatures that have adapted to life at sea,
so land movements are difficult.
There was a large hill at this site and we were
able to see Gentoo penguins trying to “hike”
up the hill. Since penguins are better adapted
to water, hiking up a hill was obviously a difficult task for them. They were clumsy, much
like the Weddell seal. Hiking up the hill, we
saw thousands of Gentoo penguins caring for
nests on the other side.
The inlet shore had whale skeletal remains.
We were able to get close to see their vertebrae
and the size in comparison to our own bodies.
Unfortunately, the wind
was picking up, and it was
time to go. We boarded the
zodiacs and headed back to
decorate ginger bread cookies and celebrate Christmas
Eve.

Dec. 25:

Christmas morning was
a memorable experience.
The crew decorated the ship
for the holidays. The festive
decorations complimented
the views of icebergs, penguins and seals that we saw
Trecartin

Photo by Michele Anderson

Courtesy photo

FEBRUARY 2014

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