{"id":5053,"date":"2025-03-11T14:41:33","date_gmt":"2025-03-11T14:41:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/?p=5053"},"modified":"2025-03-11T14:57:11","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T14:57:11","slug":"how-tourist-photos-could-help-scientists-studying-antarcticas-penguins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/how-tourist-photos-could-help-scientists-studying-antarcticas-penguins\/","title":{"rendered":"How tourist photos could help scientists studying Antarctica\u2019s penguins"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If there is one thing you can guarantee when you\u2019re planning a trip to Antarctica, it\u2019s that you\u2019re going to take a lot of photos of penguins. Why would you not? For many people, seeing these endlessly charismatic little birds are a highlight of an expedition cruise to the White Continent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what if your photos contained more than just images of penguins? What if you could go beyond the metadata to use the image as a source for important ecological data. A revolutionary technique called georegistration promises exactly that. We talk to the authors of a new study<\/a> about how this might revolutionise citizen science \u2013 and how even your old photos might soon be helping researchers better understand the health of Antarctica\u2019s penguin colonies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Studying the ecology of penguin colonies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dr Heather Lynch is professor of Ecology and Evolution at the Institute for Advanced Computational Science at Stony Brook University in New York. She\u2019s been studying penguins since 2006 when she started working in Antarctica with Oceanites<\/a>, a publicly supported non-profit research that for more than 30 years has been tracking changing penguin population changes along the Antarctic Peninsula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dr
Dr Heather Lynch in Antarctica, prior to current Avian Flu biosecurity rules (Image: Casey Youngflesh)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Now Dr Lynch monitoring the penguins of Antarctica both in the field and through remote sensing techniques such as camera traps and satellite imagery. Using the high resolution images taken by satellites to count penguins from space has become increasingly widespread in recent years (we\u2019ve previously written about it here on the Swoop Antarctica blog<\/a>), but georegistration is something entirely new. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018We\u2019re using photos taken not from space but from the ground,\u2019 Dr Lynch explains. \u2018The goal of our project was to take photos collected from the internet or passed along to us, to figure out exactly where the photographer was standing when they took the photo.\u2019 If that information can be unlocked \u2013 where someone was standing when they took the photo of a penguin colony \u2013 it can be used to reference other features at the same location, such as the shoreline or a nearby mountain peak, and plug that into a 3D model of the site. With that information available, the researchers could then understand exactly the boundaries of the colony on the day the photo was taken: a crucial piece of information for understanding the size and health of the colony. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How georeferencing works<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a simple theory underpinned by a lot of complicated maths and robust computational power. \u2018It gives us the type of information we otherwise might gather from a drone, except that it allows us to use the many hundreds of photos collected in Antarctica every day by passengers,\u2019 says Dr Lynch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Guide to selecting appropriate photographs for georegistration<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tantalisingly, it even allows researchers to go back in time and use historic photos taken long before the advent of digital photography. Imagine being able to pull the data from a photo taken 10, 20 or 50 years ago and being able to compare it with a shot taken in 2025. The potential to unlock important ecological data is enormous<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Lynch\u2019s colleague Dr Haoyu Wu explains in more detailed how the process works. \u2018\u2018Our approach begins with a Segment Anything Model (SAM), which automatically segments penguin colony pixels in ground-level photographs taken by tourists,\u2019 she says, explaining how images are broken down into their component data. The next step is to create a 3D textured mesh, using satellite imagery and a digital elevation model to build a topographical model of the penguin colony. \u2018Human experts then align the ground photos with the mesh to estimate camera poses,\u2019 she continues, creating an accurate picture of where the photographer was standing when they took the photo. \u2018This semi-automated approach enables accurate colony mapping using unstructured tourist photographs.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The penguins of Brown Bluff<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To test how the model worked, the researchers looked to the Brown Bluff, a landing site on the northeastern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula<\/a>, which is home to a mixed colony of Adelie and gentoo penguins.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Gentoo penguins at Brown Bluff<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dr Lynch explains why they chose this location as a great example of a colony whose health could be monitored using tourist photos. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018The colony is one of the larger Adelie colonies, and it\u2019s spread over such a long coastline that surveying it in the time [researchers] have on shore is near impossible, even with a drone,\u2019 she says, adding that the fact that the Adelie penguins at Brown Bluff are also mixed in with a smaller number of gentoos complicates the interpretation of satellite imagery. Here, the fact that Brown Bluff is commonly visited by expedition cruise ship passengers plays to its advantage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Their photos, combined with this method, would allow us to see how the colony has changed over time, both in terms of overall size but also in the expansion of gentoo penguins into areas traditionally used only by Adelies.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate and changing penguin distribution<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Antarctic Peninsula is one of the fastest warming places on Earth. Penguin colonies are changing as a result, which is one reason why this new technique for understanding their historic distribution is so important. Dr Lynch explains why. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A chinstrap penguin (left) and a gentoo penguin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2018The northeastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula is strongly influenced by the cold and icy Weddell Sea and, generally speaking, the Adelie penguin colonies on this side of the Peninsula are doing much better than those on the warmer and more rapidly changing western side.\u2019 In recent years however, increasing numbers of gentoo penguins are starting to nest in areas that once only contained Adelies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Gentoo penguins are like the canaries in the coal mine of climate change. When gentoo penguins show up in new places, it’s inevitably linked to climate change \u2013 either an area that no longer freezes solid in winter or perhaps an area where a glacier has recently melted and left behind some open territory. The gentoo penguins are highly opportunistic and move right in when conditions allow, so they are a great marker for tracking climate change in this region.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next steps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s next for this new technique? Dr Lynch suggests that it could be a powerful new tool for researchers. Many visitors to Antarctica are already familiar with citizen science projects like Happywhale. This is a platform where people submit photos of whales they\u2019ve spotted to a large database, where they can be individually identified by algorithms, allowing whale biologists to learn more about their behaviour . It\u2019s an approach that has already led to new whale conservation moves<\/a>, such as the geofencing of areas around the Antarctic Peninsula and South Shetland Islands to limit vessel cruising speeds to prevent accidental ship strikes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Tourists at a gentoo penguin colony<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But where Happywhale depends on actively soliciting photos, the new georeferencing technique greatly expands the possibilities for monitoring environmental conditions or, as we have demonstrated in our application, populations of wildlife through being able to use photos from almost any source \u2013 and back through time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Our method for georeferencing photographs isn\u2019t completely human-free so it remains a bit time consuming to process each photo,\u2019 says Dr Lynch. But it paves the way for expanded use of crowd-sourced or historical photography. It\u2019s hoped that before long it can be used to develop new projects working in those parts of Antarctica that are difficult to survey but which have been visited by expedition cruises ships since the industry started to grow in the early 1990s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until then, Dr Lynch and her team are looking for images that thar be helpful to build their datasets. \u2018Passengers are our eyes and ears and I would encourage them to reach out to us<\/a> with photos or videos of anything unusual, she says, \u2018Like good photos of banded birds where the band number is visible, birds with unusual colour patterns, or pictures of vagrant species that have wandered too far south. All of that can be incredibly useful for scientists.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So if you\u2019ve been to Antarctica recently, a decade ago or are even travelling next year, take another look at your photos: they could hold the key to unlocking even more secrets about Antarctica\u2019s penguins by playing their part in this rapidly developing area of polar science. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If there is one thing you can guarantee when you\u2019re planning a trip to Antarctica, it\u2019s that you\u2019re going to take a lot of photos of penguins. Why would you not? For many people, seeing these endlessly charismatic little birds are a highlight of an expedition cruise to the White Continent.  But what if your […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":5075,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[87,96,34],"class_list":["post-5053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories-and-inspiration","tag-citizen-science","tag-interview","tag-penguins"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow tourist photos could help scientists studying Antarctica\u2019s penguins - Swoop Antarctica Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An interview with Dr Heather Lynch about how a new image analysis tool could use tourist photos to help scientists studying Antarctic penguin colonies.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/how-tourist-photos-could-help-scientists-studying-antarcticas-penguins\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How tourist photos could help scientists studying Antarctica\u2019s penguins - Swoop Antarctica Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An interview with Dr Heather Lynch about how a new image analysis tool could use tourist photos to help scientists studying Antarctic penguin colonies.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/how-tourist-photos-could-help-scientists-studying-antarcticas-penguins\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Swoop Antarctica Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-11T14:41:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-11T14:57:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/54365294285_d0d022ae84_6k-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1175\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Paul\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Paul\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/how-tourist-photos-could-help-scientists-studying-antarcticas-penguins\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/how-tourist-photos-could-help-scientists-studying-antarcticas-penguins\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Paul\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2a8eebf1a7ae296308c6aa697699e569\"},\"headline\":\"How tourist photos could help scientists studying Antarctica\u2019s penguins\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-11T14:41:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-11T14:57:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/how-tourist-photos-could-help-scientists-studying-antarcticas-penguins\/\"},\"wordCount\":1414,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"citizen science\",\"interview\",\"penguins\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Stories & Inspiration\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/how-tourist-photos-could-help-scientists-studying-antarcticas-penguins\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/how-tourist-photos-could-help-scientists-studying-antarcticas-penguins\/\",\"name\":\"How tourist photos could help scientists studying Antarctica\u2019s penguins - Swoop Antarctica Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-11T14:41:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-11T14:57:11+00:00\",\"description\":\"An interview with Dr Heather Lynch about how a new image analysis tool could use tourist photos to help scientists studying Antarctic penguin colonies.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/how-tourist-photos-could-help-scientists-studying-antarcticas-penguins\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/how-tourist-photos-could-help-scientists-studying-antarcticas-penguins\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/how-tourist-photos-could-help-scientists-studying-antarcticas-penguins\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How tourist photos could help scientists studying Antarctica\u2019s penguins\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Swoop Antarctica Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Swoop Antarctica Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/swoop-antarctica-logo-blog.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/swoop-antarctica-logo-blog.svg\",\"width\":1240,\"height\":108,\"caption\":\"Swoop Antarctica Blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2a8eebf1a7ae296308c6aa697699e569\",\"name\":\"Paul\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Paul-Clammer-avatar-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Paul-Clammer-avatar-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Paul\"},\"description\":\"Paul came to Swoop after spending nearly 20 years researching and writing guidebooks for Lonely Planet. On his most recent trip for Swoop, he fell in love with the epic landscapes and uncountable wildlife of South Georgia.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/author\/paulswoop-adventures-com\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How tourist photos could help scientists studying Antarctica\u2019s penguins - Swoop Antarctica Blog","description":"An interview with Dr Heather Lynch about how a new image analysis tool could use tourist photos to help scientists studying Antarctic penguin colonies.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/how-tourist-photos-could-help-scientists-studying-antarcticas-penguins\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"How tourist photos could help scientists studying Antarctica\u2019s penguins - Swoop Antarctica Blog","og_description":"An interview with Dr Heather Lynch about how a new image analysis tool could use tourist photos to help scientists studying Antarctic penguin colonies.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/how-tourist-photos-could-help-scientists-studying-antarcticas-penguins\/","og_site_name":"Swoop Antarctica Blog","article_published_time":"2025-03-11T14:41:33+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-03-11T14:57:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1175,"url":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/54365294285_d0d022ae84_6k-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Paul","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Paul","Estimated reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/how-tourist-photos-could-help-scientists-studying-antarcticas-penguins\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/how-tourist-photos-could-help-scientists-studying-antarcticas-penguins\/"},"author":{"name":"Paul","@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2a8eebf1a7ae296308c6aa697699e569"},"headline":"How tourist photos could help scientists studying Antarctica\u2019s penguins","datePublished":"2025-03-11T14:41:33+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-11T14:57:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/how-tourist-photos-could-help-scientists-studying-antarcticas-penguins\/"},"wordCount":1414,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["citizen science","interview","penguins"],"articleSection":["Stories & Inspiration"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/how-tourist-photos-could-help-scientists-studying-antarcticas-penguins\/","url":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/how-tourist-photos-could-help-scientists-studying-antarcticas-penguins\/","name":"How tourist photos could help scientists studying Antarctica\u2019s penguins - Swoop Antarctica Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-03-11T14:41:33+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-11T14:57:11+00:00","description":"An interview with Dr Heather Lynch about how a new image analysis tool could use tourist photos to help scientists studying Antarctic penguin colonies.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/how-tourist-photos-could-help-scientists-studying-antarcticas-penguins\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/how-tourist-photos-could-help-scientists-studying-antarcticas-penguins\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/how-tourist-photos-could-help-scientists-studying-antarcticas-penguins\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How tourist photos could help scientists studying Antarctica\u2019s penguins"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/","name":"Swoop Antarctica Blog","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Swoop Antarctica Blog","url":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/swoop-antarctica-logo-blog.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/swoop-antarctica-logo-blog.svg","width":1240,"height":108,"caption":"Swoop Antarctica Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2a8eebf1a7ae296308c6aa697699e569","name":"Paul","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Paul-Clammer-avatar-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Paul-Clammer-avatar-96x96.jpg","caption":"Paul"},"description":"Paul came to Swoop after spending nearly 20 years researching and writing guidebooks for Lonely Planet. On his most recent trip for Swoop, he fell in love with the epic landscapes and uncountable wildlife of South Georgia.","url":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/author\/paulswoop-adventures-com\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5053"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5053"}],"version-history":[{"count":33,"href":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5053\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5092,"href":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5053\/revisions\/5092"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}