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Viking/Oceanites team find new penguin colony in Antarctica

Viking's expedition team supported the discovery of a new colony of chinstrap penguins not previously known to science on Diaz Rock, near Astrolabe Island in Antarctica.

Anne Kalosh, Editor, Seatrade Cruise News & Senior Associate Editor, Seatrade Cruise Review

March 8, 2024

1 Min Read
Credit: Seatrade Cruise News

The finding took place in January when Viking Octantis visited the three-mile-long island, located in the Bransfield Strait of the Trinity Peninsula. Astrolabe is home to a colony of chinstrap penguins that had not been surveyed since 1987.

During the visit, Viking’s scientific partner, Oceanites, the leading field research entity in Antarctic penguin monitoring, conducted a visual and thermal aerial survey. The fieldwork documented the first survey in nearly 40 years of the known chinstrap penguin colony of Astrolabe and, in the process, discovered the additional colony on Diaz Rock.

Scientific paper to follow

Oceanites will share additional details from the survey in a scientific paper to follow in due course.

'We are pleased to have supported another significant scientific development that will allow for further understanding of the region,' Viking Chairman Torstein Hagen said. ' ... Our intention has always been to provide our guests and scientists with opportunities for meaningful discovery during each voyage. We look forward to supporting other critical research opportunities on future voyages.'

Read more about:

Torstein HagenViking

About the Author

Anne Kalosh

Editor, Seatrade Cruise News & Senior Associate Editor, Seatrade Cruise Review

Anne Kalosh covers global stories, reporting both breaking and in-depth news on cruising's significant people, places, ships and trends. A sought-after expert on cruising, she has moderated conferences around the world, including the high-profile State of the Industry panel at Seatrade Cruise Global. She created and led the acclaimed itinerary-planning case study for Seatrade's cruise master classes held at Cambridge and Oxford universities. She has been the cruise columnist for AFAR.com, and her freelance stories have appeared in a wide range of publications, from The New York Times to The Miami Herald.

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