Whaler’s Bay, Deception Island, South Shetland Islands
The remains of yesteryear’s leviathans lay like bleached driftwood on black volcanic beaches. Thirty-foot-tall storage tanks lend some perspective to how active and destructive the Antarctic whale oil industry was. How many rendered whales does it take to fill a tank that size? Sadly, the whalers needed more than one tank at this station. With the invention of mechanized whaling ships and the ability to process whales at sea, this station became obsolete and the pile of bones at the bottom of this caldera stopped growing. The tanks are now rusting and slowly being broken down to their base elements by fierce natural forces. Even noble endeavors like Antarctic research were quashed not by industry but the raw physical fury of this island. A series of eruptions changed the landscape and history here. Humans fled and operations ceased. Dilapidated buildings and airplane hangars now serve as nest sites for kelp gulls and hazards to humans. From a bustling whaling station to a British research base, Deception Island has morphed into a relic and reminder of days gone by. Inorganic symbols of human failure. Thankfully, a few species do not find our abandoned-material-turned-relics distracting and are doing what all wild animals do: scratching out an existence and reproducing at the expense of another animal.
There was a sense of urgency in everything the skuas did today. These bulky brown gulls are nearing ‘desperation mode’ as their food supply becomes less abundant. As penguin chicks grow larger and stronger at nearby colonies, so too must the skua’s tactics become more aggressive and bold. We watched two skuas descend upon a small chinstrap penguin very soon after exiting the cold Antarctic water. These birds are looking to capitalize at the slightest sign of weakness or inattentiveness. Unfortunately for the skuas, the penguin had more fight left and was able to send the birds off dejected and still hungry.
Further up the beach young and not-so-young Antarctic fur seals slept and tussled with one another after hauling out of the freezing water. Antarctic fur seal numbers have exploded in this region and their presence today denotes the end of a breeding season at more northerly islands and a switch from fighting to fattening up. With sharp canine teeth exposed, young males assert themselves on an empty beach today with the hopes of controlling a beach full of females soon. Watching these animals playing on the very shores that seal hunters occupied not long ago, it’s nice to know these animals have no idea how close their species came to annihilation. Ignorance is bliss. When your neighbor has razor sharp teeth and a nasty disposition, bliss is relative.
The skeletons of an industry now rot next to the skulls of the whales it was founded on. Unless a large eruption buries both under feet of volcanic mud, they serve as reminders of how powerful and long-lasting our actions can be. Until then we have the animals and the stories they tell.
