Little King by Marsel van Oosten

Little King by Marsel van Oosten

South Georgia is a remote and inhospitable island, 864 miles from the Falklands. Rising steeply from the sea, South Georgia is rugged and mountainous, and home to over 100,000 king penguins. The king penguin is the second largest species of penguin. In size it is second only to the emperor penguin. An adult king penguin stands at 70 to 100 cm (28 to 39 in) tall and weighs from 9.3 to 18 kg (21 to 40 lb). The chicks are completely covered in brown feathers and they often live in group with other chicks, a so called creche. These youngsters are particularly curious, which is great for photography. There are very few places on this planet where the wildlife is not afraid of people, and this is by far the most impressive one. South Georgia is covered in wildlife, and it’s all extremely relaxed. The reason for this is that people have not hunted here and have not fed the wildlife here. These are the two main causes for a disturbed relationship between wildlife and humans. Tourism to South Georgia is highly regulated, and this is a good thing. Mankind has a tendency to f*** up nature wherever they go, so we should cherish places like this and protect it from the destructive powers of homo sapiens. To walk around here is nothing short of spectacular. When we got close to a large penguin rookery, I simply lay down flat on my stomach and the wildlife was coming to me. A welcome change for a wildlife photographer. This young king penguin chick was very curious and came close enough for me to use my 14-24. – – – If you’re interested in joining us to South Georgia & Antarctica, then you’re in luck – due to a last minute cancellation we now have one opening on this spectacular tour. Check out our website for more information and a detailed PDF: www.squiver.com/tours-workshops/south-georgia-antarctica-2016/ Marsel WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM ©2016 Marsel van Oosten, All Rights Reserved. This image is not available for use on websites, blogs or other media without the explicit written permission of the photographer.

Marsel van Oosten: Photos