Flora and Fauna

The first thing you will notice during a visit to Antarctica are the many penguins. Penguins come ashore again in spring, November and December and are busy building their nests during this period. Several species of penguins can be seen on the Antarctic peninsula, including adélie penguins, gentoo penguins and chinstrap penguins.

The emperor penguin is rare on the peninsula. Emperor penguins have a blue-grey back that turns into a black tail. Their belly is white with a hint of yellow that gets brighter in the yellow spots on the cheek. Unlike other penguin chicks, the chicks have a beautiful grey body and a black head with a white mask around the eyes. 

The presence of seals is large in Antarctica. They can be divided into three families: the Phocidae or real seals, the Otarriidae or ear seals and the Odobenidae or walruses. Of the nineteen species of true seals, five are found in Antarctica. Seals and sea lions mate, just like penguins, in the months of November and December.

The orca or killer whale is one of the most successful dolphin species with populations in all seas and oceans on Earth. Orcas have 44 conical teeth with which they grab their prey. They usually hunt fish, but also sea lions. Orcas always live in groups. These groups can vary from 2 to 90 orcas. In the group the oldest female is in charge. 

Although they are only 15m long, they can weigh up to 40 tons. A striking feature are their long pectoral fins that are about a third of their body length. Humpback whales spend the summer in the cold waters around the poles, because of the presence of food there. It spends the winter in the tropics to reproduce. 

Albatrosses mainly eat prey that they find on the surface of the sea. In addition, it is home to various other bird species, such as Cape pigeons, blue petrels and Antarctic petrels.

When snow falls on Antarctica, its weight compresses the snow underneath and it turns into ice. As the ice continues to descend, the bubbles are squeezed out of the ice and the ice becomes clear blue. When a glacier containing this blue ice breaks off and drifts away, 'blue icebergs' form, one of the most unique phenomena in Antarctica!

In Antarctica you can see beautiful snow sculptures created by the erosion of the snow. These polished shapes can be several metres high and as hard as concrete. The snow sculptures are most beautiful in November, when the sun shines over these beautiful undulations making the snow and ice glisten.

On the mainland of Antarctica, including the interior, and the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula there are about 30 species of mosses and 125 species of lichens. Moss beds are often brown-coloured, because they temporarily lack enough water to flourish. There is not much more growing in Antarctica.