Tag: Krill

August 11 is a big day in the Antarctic calendar because it’s World Krill Day. It’s the one day of the year where we turn our attention from all our charismatic favourites like penguins and humpback whales, and we focus our attention on the tiny creatures without whom the Southern Ocean would be an empty […]

At Swoop, we spend a lot of time talking about Antarctica’s wildlife, from many species of penguins to seals and amazing whale watching. These are the big charismatic animals that draw expedition cruise travellers to the end of the Earth. But there is one species that’s rarely on people’s draw cards, arguably the most important […]

It’s March on the Antarctic Peninsula, at the tail end of the expedition cruising season. Winter is in the air, with the days getting shorter in a blaze of terrific sunsets. On shore, the penguins are undergoing their annual moult in anticipation of spending the next few months at sea, and everywhere it seems, there […]

Antarctica is often closer than you think. From the fish in your supermarket to the supplements in your health food store, traces of its most important animal are everywhere, hidden in plain sight. Krill, the tiny crustacean at the centre of the Antarctic food web eaten by everything from gentoo penguins to whales, is being […]

When it comes to Antarctic wildlife, penguins, seals and whales grab all the attention but there is one species that visitors are unlikely to see but without whom the entire ecosystem would be vastly different. To celebrate World Krill Day on August 11 we spoke to krill biologist Dr Kim Bernard, who is currently over-wintering […]