Favoritos de otes

A patch along the connector trail between Huddart Park and Kings Mountain Road I've been watching for several years. This is the only observation when I have seen them in bloom. EVERY year they get whacked back during bloom time by trail clearing crews.

I feel like I should post one of those warnings you see on some TV shows...."Viewer Discretion is Advised; some images may be disturbing to some viewers". After some of the road kill images that are posted on iNat perhaps this is not too bad. At least it was completely natural, unlike the slaughter caused by vehicles on our wildlife.

Between 1996-2005, I was a bird guide on 13 trips to Antarctica. During those trips I saw lots of Leopard Seal attacks on penguins, but none stands out in my mind more than this one. This adult Chinstrap Penguin had somehow escaped from the jaws of a Leopard Seal, but was mortally injured. The penguin was virtually "de-gloved" whereby its skin was almost removed from its body. The penguin struggled ashore where it stood still for 10 or 15 minutes, much to the distress of several tour participants I had with me. As the penguin stood there, several Brown Skuas began to gather about, waiting for the inevitable to happen. Slowly the penguin walked farther away and out of immediate view, with 4 or 5 skuas walking along behind it. I did not follow, but rather decided to allow the scene to unfold without my observation and intrusion. It was a reminder that nature can be tough and brutal.

Image 4 shows a small portion of the Chinstrap Penguin colony at this location.

image scanned from 35 mm slides
Bailey Head,
Deception Island,
Antarctica
29 January 2002