Polarstern / CAML expedition: the emperor penguin, star of the day
Polarstern and Emperor Penguins
© G. Chapelle / IPF / Alfred Wegener Institut
Now that the unloading of the containers was under way, the researchers finally got the green light to visit the sea ice surrounding Polarstern. With a crane, small groups were lifted from the ship and placed on the ice. Four hours of exhilarating exploration followed: for most of us, it was the first opportunity to look at our ice-breaker in her "natural environment"... and at the same time to get away from the constant noise of her engines.
After the traditional pictures in front of her bow, the main attractions were the foot of the nearest iceberg, as well as a female Weddell Seal and her pup, in the middle digestion nap. But the real stars of this excursion on the ice were, of course, the emperors penguins. By good fortune, the vessel was placed precisely adjacent to one of the main routes in and out of the colony.
Invisible from the ship, it was the very same colony of a few thousand pairs which biologists visited the day before to survey the state of the colony (percentage of adults, chick mortality, etc.). Another extraordinary sequence of Antarctic Life! No movies no matter how good (sorry) can convey the feeling of being immersed in such an enormous gathering of what remains one of the most remarkable bird species on our Planet.
