Oceanwide Expeditions made its fourth consecutive landing at the emperor penguin colony on Snow Hill Island
Oceanwide Expeditions made its fourth consecutive landing at the emperor penguin colony on Snow Hill Island last Friday, November 18, the first attempt the Company has been able to make in three years.
Each passenger on Ortelius was able to spend about an hour and a half near the rookery, situated in a cluster of other Weddell Sea islands east of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Since Snow Hill Island is located in an especially cold area, it is almost always ice-locked and therefore inaccessible even by ice-strengthened vessels. For this reason, Oceanwide Expeditions use helicopters stationed on board Ortelius to reach it.
Their last successful landing was in 2019, before which they made landings in 2018 and 2017. In the preceding years, however, inclement weather prevented them from flying.
The Snow Hill emperor colony is home to about 2,000 penguins. Many of these are curious enough to approach our hiking groups, which we keep at a respectful distance from the seabirds. We also land our helicopters far enough away so as to not disturb them.
Emperors are the only penguin species that breeds during the Antarctic winter. As that has drawn to a close, we can also see their chicks – a delightful bonus for both our guides and guests.
