National Geographic: Antarctic Wildlife Adventure Page #2

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when you feel like it.

Or you can't wash every day

if you want to,

or you can't go down to the

nearest pub for a drink

just to get away from it.

You just accept that.

It just, it might look difficult

to people,

but until you... it would be far more

difficult for him to have

to get into a car every morning

and drive to work.

The Damien II averages 26 miles

a day now,

with stops along the way.

Working from cove to cove

they arrive at Cuverville Island

a breeding site for many

many Gentoo penguins.

Their pelts are sleek as fur

but like all penguins,

these are true birds.

Short, thick feathers help

insulate them from the cold,

and at the same time

lie close to the body to help

the speedy swimmers in the water.

This will be the first egg

because its dirtier,

and this is the second.

The second egg is suppose to be

a bit smaller that the first.

But they look about the same size

really.

That one there, though-she's just

about to get off

that-you can really tell

the difference there.

The Gentoos are apt to form life-long

attachments among breeding pairs

although they are not so particular

about which nest site

they use from season to season.

On the peninsula,

it takes about five weeks

for penguin eggs to hatch.

The parents watch over them for

another month or so,

and then leave the chicks in

large groups while the parents

are off gathering good.

One or two months later the young

penguins begin to feed on their own.

What beautiful nests these ones are

well made

anyway, with the stones like that

and they all seem to be

just sitting right.

You remember the chinstraps at

Deception-

all mucky, all smelly

in all directions?

These are all nice and neat...

I think these are probably the

prettiest of the birds.

By now Sally and Jerome

have witnessed this cycle of

penguin life many times

and still Antarctica fascinates them.

The first time we come...

just well, put the foot ashore.

That was an achievement

for us at least.

And we are very pleased with that.

We've been a bit scared

we've been fighting

to reach Antarctica... and after

we come back a bit more confident

and you go a bit further.

And that's what we've done

just going farther and farther

each time, knowing a bit more.

And when you start to know a place

you-why,

it starts to belong to you or

you belong to this place.

And that's what's happened to us.

Often while Sally is counting penguins

the children explore for themselves.

At the shore here, they've spotted a

leopard seal coming close.

Penguins that survive to adulthood

may live for 20 years.

They're safe on land

with practically no predators.

But in sea

there is danger from seals

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