Animals in Antarctica | What Animals Call the Antarctic Home?

Antarctica is one of the most extreme environments on Earth. Despite its icy landscape and frigid temperatures, an incredible variety of wildlife thrives here. From the deep-diving emperor penguin to the mighty blue whale, Antarctica animals have adapted to survive in this remote part of the world. 

If you’re wondering what animals live in Antarctica, we will introduce you to some of the most fascinating Antarctic animals you may encounter on an Expedition Micro Cruise with Secret Atlas.

Penguins

Chinstrap penguin

Easily recognized by the black ‘chinstrap’ marking on their faces, chinstrap penguins form some of the largest penguin colonies in the world. They typically feed on krill and are found along the Antarctic Peninsula and the surrounding islands.

Adélie penguin

If you had to imagine the perfect Antarctic animal equipped to live here, it’s the Adélie penguin. Whether they’re spending winters on pack ice or summers along the rocky coastline, you’ll find these penguins calling Antarctica home. They’re strong swimmers and can dive up to 175 meters deep to catch krill and other small fish.

Emperor penguin

The largest of all penguin species, the emperor penguin is something truly incredible to see. At as much as 120 cm in height, these birds are well-adapted to the cold. They’ll huddle in massive colonies to stay warm and can dive over 500 meters deep in search of fish and krill making them the deepest diving birds on the planet.

Gentoo penguin

Known for their bright orange beaks and white head markings, gentoo penguins are among the fastest swimmers of all penguin species, reaching speeds of 36 km/h. They breed on the Antarctic Peninsula and nearby islands.

Macaroni penguin

The macaroni penguin is closely related to the royal penguin. With their crest of yellow-orange feathers on their head, they are probably one of the most fashionable penguin species!

Macaroni penguins are found on many sub-Antarctic islands and on the Antarctic Peninsula and on some islands off the coast of Argentina and Chile. During the breeding season, the macaroni penguin feeds almost exclusively on krill and it is said that they eat several million krill per year. In fact, they eat more than any other seabird.

Rockhopper penguin

Rockhopper penguins are known for their energetic and feisty personalities. Unlike most penguins, they prefer hopping from rock to rock rather than sliding on their bellies. They inhabit subantarctic regions and are famous for their long yellow eyebrows.

King penguin

King penguins are easily confused with emperor penguins. In fact, the name comes from the original belief that king penguins are the largest species of penguin. Its size, the long and stout bill, and orange-yellow feathers on its upper chest and head distinguish the king penguin from its relatives in Antarctica. 

King penguins are known to live in vast colonies. They prefer to stay on sub-Antarctic islands rather than in Antarctica itself and inhabit shores and valleys without snow and ice. 

Fish makes up the largest part of a penguin’s diet. They catch up to 2,000 fish a day and dive up to 350 metres down to do so. King penguins are provided with very good night vision. Like emperor penguins, king penguins do not breed in nests but keep their eggs warm beneath their brood pouch.

Whales

Orca

Orcas are one of the most feared predators of the marine ecosystem. 

However, contrary to their reputation and alternative name (killer whale), they are completely harmless to humans. Worldwide, there is not a single known case of a human being being attacked by an orca in the wild. 

The dolphin-related whales can be found almost everywhere in the world’s oceans. It’s hard to keep track of how many there are because they are so widespread. But there is a consensus that there are at least 50,000 individuals worldwide. 

Most orcas prefer to stay in Antarctic waters. Orcas are among the most intelligent animals in the world with complex social structures and hunting behaviour. 

They hunt mainly in groups, using a very special technique called wave hunting. Together, they create a large wave that floods ice floes, washing resting seals or penguins off the floe. 

Blue whale

Blue whales are the largest existing creatures on earth, reaching a length of 30 metres and weighing up to 200 tonnes. Female blue whales are usually larger than males and the largest individuals live in the southern oceans. 

In winter, most blue whales migrate to the equator to breed. After 12 months of gestation, the calves are born. They are already eight metres big at birth. In the first half of the 20th century, the blue whale was almost brought to extinction by commercialised whaling. 

Since the 1960s, the blue whale has been protected. But populations seem to be recovering only slowly and the blue whale remains on the endangered species list.

Humpback whale

Humpback whales are the most common whale species in Antarctica. Chances are high that you see them on one of our Antarctic expeditions. 

Like penguins, seals, and other whales, they mainly feed on Antarctic krill and small fish using various hunting techniques. 

One well-known method is bubble netting. This technique involves several humpback whales swimming under a group of fish and circling it. Then the whales start blowing bubbles to further enclose the circle of fish. Once they have herded the fish together, they can swim through it with their mouths open and filter out the krill.

Right whale

Southern right whales are slow-moving but known for their friendly and curious nature. They were heavily hunted in the past, but conservation efforts have helped their population recover.

Sei whale

Pronounced ‘say’ whale, the sei whale is one of the fastest whales in the ocean. They can be elusive, making sightings of this Antarctica wildlife particularly special.

Minke whale

Minke whales belong to the smaller whale species. There are two types of minke whales, the common minke whale and the Antarctic minke whale. 

Antarctic minke whales live exclusively in the southern oceans. Some of them migrate a little north in the winter to warmer waters, while others stay off the coasts of Antarctica all year round. 

Fun fact: they are also called ‘stinky minkes’ because of their smelly spouts. We recommend keeping a safe distance... 

Sperm whale

Sperm whales are probably one of the most unique creatures on earth. They spend a large part of their lives in the depths of the seas. In fact, only male sperm whales are found in Antarctic waters. 

Male individuals are usually one and a half times larger than females. The main part of their diet is giant squid, for which they dive up to 3,000 metres. Sperm whales are very sociable and live in groups of up to 50 members. The bond among them is so strong that it usually lasts a lifetime.

• Want to learn more about a wildlife cruise to Antarctica? Contact us today to enquire!

Seals

Leopard seal

The leopard seal is one of the top predators of the Antarctic. Penguins, other seals, and seabirds are constantly threatened by the large seals. But are they really as evil and bad as some documentaries portray them? 

The answer is no. Leopard seals keep the numbers in check. Many other populations would grow too large without them, such as penguin and fur seal populations.

Ross seal

The name of this seal goes back to the Ross Sea. The Ross Sea is a marginal sea in the Southern Ocean off the Antarctic coast. 

However, their habitat is not limited to the Ross Sea and they live across the continent. Ross seals have a very atypical appearance and are much smaller than other Antarctic seals. As they don’t leave Antarctic waters, little is known about the Ross seal. Recent estimates suggest that the population may be approximately 200,000.

Weddell seal

The Weddell seal is the most common seal in Antarctica. They live around the continent, on the edge of the pack ice. In the Antarctic winter, Weddell seals do not migrate north but stay in the ice and keep an ice hole open. 

They are perfectly adapted to life in the ice. In fact, there are no other seals that live further south. Weddell seals can grow up to 3.5 metres tall and weigh up to 600kg. Since they have a lot of red blood cells, they are also excellent divers. They can stay underwater for up to 80 minutes. The main part of their diet is squid, fish, and krill.

Crabeater seal

The crabeater seal is named after its diet. It is the only seal species that feeds mainly on krill. In fact, Antarctic krill makes up more than 90% of its diet. 

They have a special tooth structure to filter the krill, which works much like the beard of whales. More krill has become available to the seals as whale populations are declining. Estimates suggest that there are 30 million individuals worldwide today.

Antarctic fur seal

The habitat of the Antarctic fur seal covers the islands around Antarctica, rather than the continent itself. The largest colonies are found on South Georgia Island. 

Towards the end of the 19th century, the fur seal was almost extinct due to commercial hunting. By 1930, there was a remaining population of about 100 individuals. It is a miracle that the species was able to recover and breed in large numbers again. 

Fur seals are easily confused with sea lions because of their appearance. They have a more pointed nose and a longer neck than other seals. There is also a blonde variant of the seal species. One in 1000 baby seals are born with a lighter colour. Their main threats are leopard seals and declining krill stocks.

Elephant seal

Elephant seals are the largest seals in the world. The enlarged nose of male individuals resembles an elephant’s trunk, which is where its name comes from. 

A bull can grow to six and a half metres, while a female is only three and a half metres. Elephant seals are solitary animals, but at mating time they gather together in large colonies. Fighting and vocalisations are used by male elephant seals to determine the dominant males. 

The bulls can be a great danger for the calves, and it is not uncommon for some of them to be killed due to their reckless behaviour.

Birdlife

Albatross

Different species of the albatross family inhabit the southern part of the globe, and – even though they might look similar on the first view – display a diverse set of different characteristics. The wandering albatross, for example – which got its scientific name from the Greek mythological hero Diomedes – gets whiter as it gets older. 

On the other hand, the grey-headed albatross’ dominating colour is grey. In comparison to the other species of this fascinating bird family, the grey-headed albatross is the one that breeds the furthest south. 

Unlike most other albatrosses, the black-browed albatross is not a solitary bird on sea and even follows shipping boats and other birds to get easy access to food. 

Last but not least, light-mantled albatrosses have overall a light brown appearance and interestingly like to follow whales and dolphins in order to save energy hunting.

All in all, albatrosses are fascinating – they are uniquely huge birds, and some species can even reach up to 70 years of age. 

They are increasingly endangered, foremost because of climate change, and protecting them and their habitat should be a number one priority for everyone.

South polar skua, brown skua

Skuas are a family of huge seabirds that breed in both the northern and the southern parts of the globe and are infamous for attacking other animals such as gulls or terns in order to force them to surrender their prey. 

The south polar skua is rather infamous for hunting penguin eggs and chicks, and breeds in (almost) all of Antarctica and migrates north in the winter. Similarly, the brown skua is also coloured an unremarkable grey-brown and lives in roughly the same region. 

It is the largest of all skuas and is – like all other species in this family – quite aggressive, in some rare cases even towards humans.

Sheathbill

There are two different kinds of sheathbills in the Antarctic region: the snowy sheathbill and the black-faced sheathbill. 

The snowy sheathbill is native to large parts of Antarctica and the subpolar region and is a classic example for a bird perfectly adapted to its habitat. It does not have strong demands when it comes to food and will eat almost anything to survive under such dire living circumstances. 

On the other hand, the black-faced Sheathbill has a more limited living environment, mainly restricted to a couple of islands belonging to Australia, South Africa, and France as overseas areas. Both species are mostly white, but the black-faced sheathbill has – as its name indicates – a prominent black beak.

South Georgia pipit

The South Georgia pipit has one fundamental difference that separates it from all other birds presented here: it is not a seabird, but rather a songbird. 

Even though it is a small and not significantly remarkable bird, it has a tragic history: it is native to South Georgia and nearly went extinct after rats were introduced to the island. However, after rats were successfully eradicated from South Georgia, it has become common again and is now regularly sighted across the island.

Petrel

Petrels are hardy seabirds that thrive in the harsh Antarctic environment. Some species, like the giant petrel, scavenge on dead animals, while others, like the snow petrel, nest on rocky cliffs.

Blue-eyed shag

The blue-eyed shag is a striking bird with a distinctive blue ring around its eyes. They are expert divers, using their strong legs to propel themselves underwater in search of fish.

Fish

Mackerel icefish

The mackerel icefish is adapted to survive in frigid water because its blood actually contains antifreeze proteins, preventing ice crystals from forming in its body.

Antarctic toothfish

The Antarctic toothfish is a large predator that plays a vital role in the Southern Ocean ecosystem. It is highly sought after by commercial fisheries, making conservation efforts important.

The animals of Antarctica are some of the most resilient creatures on the planet. Whether you're spotting South Pole animals like emperor penguins or watching humpback whales breach the icy waters, every encounter with Antarctic wildlife is unforgettable. 

At Secret Atlas, our goal is to bring these animals of Antarctica to you on our Small Ship Expedition Cruises. Contact us today to learn more about our cruises to Antarctica.