A WELCOMING committee awaits as the Zodiac nears Breakwater Island, a snow-capped outcrop only a short hop from the Antarctic mainland. Shadowy figures line the shore as further crowds congregate on higher ground. We draw closer and—now a few days into this expedition and armed with some ornithological basics—I recognise the orange bills and stocky form of these enigmatic onlookers as Gentoo penguins. Several leap from the water in formation, their synchronised ‘porpoising’, likely to keep track of predatory leopard seals, marking them out as consummate showboaters.
Their effortless grace, however, disappears on land, replaced by
