Whilst I thought that you'd have to get down-island to see the good stuff, it turns out there is an incredible number of animals all over the isthmus around station. Lucky for me, as good cameras are bloody heavy, and I'm not quite 'island fit' enough to lug mine up some of the steeper hills.
Once you have been here a while you realise we are very clearly the visitors here.
Eat your heart out David Attenborough.
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| The illustrious elephant seal. Clearly the inspiration for Jabba the Hutt. Their 'roar' sounds like the most gratuitous round of farting you've ever heard. They also smell appalling. |
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| Their maturity is determined by their body mass but also by the size of their nose. This one is a young male but not yet a beach master (breeding male). During the breeding process the males blow air into their noses to make them look more impressive to the females. |
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| Hard to believe this cutie is a young version of above... |
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| It is just coming towards the end of the molting season for the females and young males - they spend a month or so ashore with their skin slowly peeling off - the perfect recipe for a seriously grumpy mood |
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| So hard not to go and give them a belly rub! |
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| Those eyes... |
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| We accidentally disturbed a group of young ones on a walk along the beach. Much farty roaring followed. |
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| The Fur Seal really wins in the seal-attractiveness department. Although they are extremely aggressive and will chase you if you get anywhere near them. We had one that waited for Tim at the bottom of the stairs just so it could chase him across the courtyard. |
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| They are so much like dogs or cats it is quite unnerving. And those whiskers! |
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| A mother and breast-feeding pup who took up residence underneath our balcony. We named the pup Squeaky as it would wake us up several times a night with its squalling. By this stage Squeaky wasn't much smaller than his mother, and despite her best efforts to wean him (including some rather vicious fights) Squeaky always seemed to win. |
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| A rather regal looking 'furry' |
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| And a little less regal a few seconds later. Nothing like a roll in some rotting kelp. |
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| The Gentoo Penguins are everywhere |
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| They can also cause quite a ruckus |
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| They have glorious yellow leather feet. Totally colour co-ordinated with their beaks. |
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| The King Penguins live up to their name with lots of elegant posing |
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| So photogenic |
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| However, they are much friendlier than the Gentoos - the minute you stop they'll come over for a nosy. It's not hard to see how they were almost wiped out by oil seeking expeditions - various reports describe them dutifully following each other up a plank into the mouth of a 'digestor' |
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| A Northern Giant Petrel. They have a wing span of 1-2 meters, look incredibly pre-historic and have a Pterodactyl-like cry. |
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| They are incredibly skittish (they'll start panicking even if you are 50m away) and are unfortunately rather ungainly when they take off. Hard not to laugh as they lope along and eventually give up after a few half-hearted flaps. |
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