East Antarctica: Adelie Penguins From the Ship
Almost immediately after getting into the thick ice, we started spotting the Adelie penguins. Adelie Penguins are the only true mainland Antarctica penguins as they form colonies on actual mainland like no other penguins (Emperor penguins colonies are on the ice shelves and not hard land). Adelie penguins were discovered in 1840 by the French explorer Dumont d’Urville right here in the East Antarctica, that he claimed for the French crown. He named the penguins Adelie for his wife and the whole land French Adelie Land (perks of marrying an explorer lol). Adelie penguins are mid-sized, 46-71 cm (18-28 in) in height and 3.6-6.0 kg (7.9-13.2 lb) in weigh, with distinctive coloring making them appear to wear tuxedos. As our ice-strengthened ship cruised deeper into the ice, Adelie penguins kept popping up on ice floes and running around and diving and swimming, playful and inquisitive.
