I went back to Hut Point this evening after dinner. There were said to be 10 Adelies down there. Instead, I found what I took to be the solitary individual from the day before laying on its side. I might have seen one quick, slight movement, but I couldn't be certain. I thought, too, that I might have heard a noise from it, but, because of all the sounds of ice moving, I couldn't be certain of that either. I hadn't heard the ice making so many noises before this.
They say that penguins and seals, like elephants in Africa, retire from the company of their compatriots when sick or seeing death approaching. Was this the case here?
A few days later: I heard on NPR (yes, we get NPR here) that banded penguins may suffer up to 17% greater mortality than non-banded penguins. A further wrinkle.
There was a rumor last night that the icebreaker is at the open water and ready to start cutting a track into McMurdo, so, it being slow at work, I rushed up to the Golfball and discovered that its view doesn't go quite that far. Later during the night I got to drive up to Arrival Heights where I could indeed see the open water, but there was no ship. Not yet...
They say that penguins and seals, like elephants in Africa, retire from the company of their compatriots when sick or seeing death approaching. Was this the case here?
A few days later: I heard on NPR (yes, we get NPR here) that banded penguins may suffer up to 17% greater mortality than non-banded penguins. A further wrinkle.
There was a rumor last night that the icebreaker is at the open water and ready to start cutting a track into McMurdo, so, it being slow at work, I rushed up to the Golfball and discovered that its view doesn't go quite that far. Later during the night I got to drive up to Arrival Heights where I could indeed see the open water, but there was no ship. Not yet...
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