Wildlife watching in Antarctica

See entertaining crowds of penguins, harems of elephant seals and huge colonies of sea birds surviving in the planet's most extreme habitat.

In between Antarctica's towering icebergs, wild animals and birds thrive in their droves. These hardy creatures are a testament to survival in the harshest of environments, as well as a lively, entertaining part of the icy tableau that awaits visitors to the planet's southern extreme.

You don't have to be a wildlife lover to be amazed by the theatre of natural life, whose protagonists have no fear of human presence and can therefore be observed at close range and in huge numbers.

Bird life is particularly prolific, from playful penguins to albatrosses, cormorants, shearwaters and petrels. Every Antarctic cruise will offer the chance to disembark (weather permitting) and wander amongst enormous colonies of waddling penguins, which, depending on the season you may see courting, nesting or fledgling fluffy chicks.

There's also a variety of seals to be seen cavorting in the frigid seas or sprawling across ice banks in their vast harems. Species include the burly elephant seal, diminutive Antarctic fur seal, crabeater seals, Weddell seals and leopard seals.