Recently featured by National Geographic for their incredible wildlife the Falkland Islands did not disappoint today. We followed Paul Nicklen’s footsteps to the island of Steeple Jason which is home to the world’s largest breeding colony of black-browed albatross. Sitting atop the cliffs the sheer magnitude of the colony, say nothing of the individual size of its members, is hard to fathom. Further exploration revealed an island teaming with life. Sea lions roamed through the tussock grasses between the island’s beaches flanked by the ever present and opportunistic striated caracara.
This afternoon the National Geographic Explorer continued its navigation through the Falkland Islands, arriving at Saunders Island, an island rich in wildlife and steeped in history. The island has been in the Pole-Evans family since 1987, with our very own expedition leader, Russ Evans having spent a good deal of time here in the early days of the island’s agricultural history. Hikers venturing into the rocky out crops were rewarded with colonies of both rockhopper penguins and black-browed albatross. The saddle between the islands between the beaches was home to gentoo, king, and Magellanic penguins.
