Antarctica, Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil
Antarctica, A Seal Story
On our 4th day in Antarctica, after we had left our southernmost point and were making our way back north along Hansen Island's western shore, I stayed out on the balcony just to see what I could see. And I did see a small drama. Follow these photos in order and I will tell you what I saw play out:
We were sailing slowly through the southern reaches of Hanusse Bay in an area that had lots of drifting icebergs. Crabeater Seals love to ride on drift ice and I spotted this group of three seals doing just that. Great, let's get a picture of that! I had no idea what I would see happen over the next two minutes.
Just so it's easier for me to describe, let's call the seal on the right "Mom", the one on the left "Sis", and the one in the center "Junior".
As I watched them, Junior edged closer and closer to the edge of the iceberg. Suddenly, he flopped over the edge and splashed heavily on his side into the water. Oops!
Within a few seconds, he popped up along the side of the iceberg and tried to jump high enough to land on the top of the berg. No luck, he wasn't even close. I had the distinct impression that Mom and Sis were rolling their eyes.
Junior swam around to the lower side of the iceberg, where he had fallen in moments before, and tried to jump back onto the iceberg. Alas, he just slipped backwards into the water.
As Junior made repeated attempts to get up on the iceberg, Sis undulated (in that odd motion that seals use when out of the water called "galumphing"—seriously, that is what it is called) over to the edge to watch Junior try to get on the iceberg. Junior is in mid-jump in this shot.
Junior tried three or four times to jump high enough on the iceberg, but each time, he would land and then slide back into the water. Sis just watched him with her head underwater, no doubt evaluating his approach to the jump. She had no trouble keeping herself from slipping in. I wonder if she was giving Junior some pointers....
Finally, Sis got bored (or so it seemed) and glided effortlessly into the water. Mom paid no attention.
A moment later, Junior came flying out of the water...
And landed solidly on the top of the iceberg. Success! Or so it seemed...
Then suddenly, with a crack and splash that I could hear, the entire end of the iceberg broke off and crashed into the water, taking Junior with it! Mom's head came up.
Just a moment later, Junior shot upward out of the water, but now the iceberg was higher than ever and still going upward as it rebounded from the loss of the weight of the big chunk that Junior had knocked off.
Junior tried again to get up onto the iceberg, but the iceberg was even higher. Mom's head went back down.
Junior splashed back down as the iceberg rose even higher. Mom's head came back up as her world bobbed and tilted.
As the ice settled into its new equilibrium, Mom found herself riding a foot or so higher than she was before Junior broke her berg. And Junior, who you can just see behind the ice he broke off, managed to claim that broken-off chunk as his own.