Mario Cuesta Hernando
Raquel MartĂn
ANTARCTICA The continent of wonders
SEA ICE
Crack... crack... ยกCRAAAACK!... The boat opens a path in the sea ice, the layer of ice that covers the sea around the Antarctica. In winter this frozen belt is as big as the continent and it is a couple of metres high. Boats must have extra protection in order to open a crack! When summer comes, the sea ice melts until it almost disappears to then grow again in winter.
PENGUINS
Penguins are flightless birds but hey can swim and dive wonderfully. Under the sea they use their wings to swim, as if they were oars. They eat krill, small fish and squid. Their feathers and the fat on their skin keep them warm. Also, their blood and bones are adapted to dive deep and for a long time.
Gentoo penguin 90 cm
Unmistakable due to its red peak and the white strap behind its eyes. Under the water it is the fastest one, it can reach 35 km/h. Many years ago, it lived in the isles that surround the Antarctica but nowadays the weather is warmer and it also lives in the Antarctic Peninsula.
Emperor penguin 120 cm
It is the largest penguin and the only one that spends the winter in Antarctica, breeding and taking care of their chicks. It can dive for 20 minutes and 500 metres deep. Its colonies are sometimes located 100 kilometres away from the sea.
Macaroni penguin 71 cm
There are a few of crested penguin species but all of them live elsewhere. Only the macaroni penguin is endemic to the Antarctic Peninsula. It has an orange crest flowing back from their forehead. They are numerous but their number is decreasing, and the situation is starting to be worrying.
King penguin 95 cm
It is similar to the emperor but not exactly the same. It is slightly smaller… and it does not even live in the Antarctica. The king penguin lives on the islands that surround it.
Chinstrap penguin 76 cm
It can be easily identified by the black strap on its chin. Some of the colonies have more than 400.000 penguins… It must be quite a bit of a mess!
Adélie penguin 70 cm
Together with the emperor, it is the only species that is endemic to the continent. The others do not get further than the Antarctic Peninsula. As any other penguin, they nest in the rocks, but not any rock… they pick them one by one to have the coolest nest in the hood!
THREADS
Oh no, we have to say bye to Antarctica! We have spent a wonderful time here, but we must go back home now. The boat puts the scientists on board and the station will be closed until next summer. Antarctica is wonderful, but the human activity is threatening it. We can’t let this continent disappear!
• If tourists get near animals, the animals get stressed and suffer. • Sometimes scientists and tourists unintentionally bring seeds from their countries stuck in their boots. Then the grass grows in an uncontrolled way and affects other animals. • In the Antarctica there is highly valuable petroleum and minerals. But extracting them means polluting the water and the air. So mining is forbidden so far. • Our cars and factories are warming up the planet. The high temperatures melt the ice and without ice… there’s no Antarctica. • If the water temperature rises, some fish can’t reproduce and the species disappears.