EarthSky friend Eliot Herman visited emperor penguins in Antarctica. Here’s Eliot’s portrait of an emperor penguin chick. Visit Eliot Herman on Flickr.
An expedition to see emperor penguins
EarthSky friend Eliot Herman took a trip to the Antarctic in late November. After more than 30 hours of flights, he and his wife reached Antarctica, where they got to observe a resident colony of emperor penguins. He shared his fantastic photos with us, and reported from the southern reaches of the world:
We flew to the interior and landed on an ice runway, then to a camp and finally ski-plane to the emperor penguin colony at Atka Bay. With reports of the penguins having reproductive problems, I was concerned about what I would see. The colony we saw had a large population of healthy chubby chicks. A photographer’s dream trip.
Eliot said the travel to get to and from Antarctica was long, but one he has wanted to do for many years. He said:
Seeing the emperors is special, few people do, only a very few of the cruise boats have a chance to go that deep into the Weddell Sea. They often fail, so the number of tourists who see the emperors each year cannot be more than 100 to 200.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Eliot Herman wrote: “Emperor penguins photographed at Atka Bay in the Antarctic. These penguins, the largest, are out of reach of most cruise ships. To visit the colony, you must fly to the Antarctic interior and then to the coast by a ski-plane.” Thank you, Eliot!Feeding an emperor penguin chick. Image via Eliot Herman/ Flickr.Emperor penguin chicks. They almost look as if, as human children sometimes do, they’re cooking up some new mischief! Image via Eliot Herman/ Flickr.
More emperor penguins
Adult emperor penguins monitoring a small group of chicks. Image via Eliot Herman/ Flickr.View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Eliot Herman in Atka Bay, Antarctica, took this image on November 26, 2023. Eliot wrote: “The emperor penguins – about 28,000 of them – lay eggs and hatch chicks. On the day of my visit, the chicks had grown to about 2/3 the size of the adults. In 2 to 3 weeks they’ll leave with the adults for the sea. The chicks are in groups that seemed analogous to a day care center. They act like toddlers, running from the adults and being chased back to the group, with some adults acting as ‘helicopter parents’. They’re curious and try to get the attention of humans.” Thank you, Eliot!
The heroes of the trip
Portrait of an emperor penguin. Image via Eliot Herman/ Flickr.The photographer in situ: Eliot at the Atka Bay, Antarctica, emperor penguin colony. Image via Eliot Herman/ Flickr.Loading the Basler ski-plane after visiting the emperor penguins. Image via Eliot Herman/ Flickr.
Bottom line: EarthSky friend Eliot Herman took a trip to the Antarctic, where he had the opportunity to visit emperor penguins in their colony. Read his report and enjoy his amazing images.
Cristina Ortiz - based in Granada, Spain - has been an EarthSky editor since 2021. "Since I was a kid," she says, "I could feel that passion for science and communication." Cristina has a master’s degree in translation and interpreting, specializing in science and technology. She has served as a translator, interpreter and proofreader in both science and technology for various media organizations, including Netflix, and for museums and other companies.
Kelly Kizer Whitt has been a science writer specializing in astronomy for more than two decades. She began her career at Astronomy Magazine, and she has made regular contributions to AstronomyToday and the Sierra Club, among other outlets. Her children’s picture book, Solar System Forecast, was published in 2012. She has also written a young adult dystopian novel titled A Different Sky. When she is not reading or writing about astronomy and staring up at the stars, she enjoys traveling to the national parks, creating crossword puzzles, running, tennis, and paddleboarding. Kelly lives in Wisconsin.
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