Travel Tips

The tiny pink mite, measuring 1/100th of an inch in length, is the farthest southern living animal recorded. Fungi and algae are what the arachnid uses for its own sustenance.An entomologist from Hawaii recently discovered this mite only 309 miles from the South Pole. Lichens have been discovered within 266 miles of the Pole, as well. This is the closest any living organism has ever been found.

Insects and insect-type life forms are the only kind of animals that live year-round on Antarctica. You can’t see them by yourself, but with the help of microscopes and the like, 56 arthropod species have been located.One insect you could easily see is about the size of a common horsefly. It’s a wingless fly. When the temperature finally warms enough to melt water, thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit, they become awakened, and no longer hibernate. You will find info on Antarctic cruises by visiting that site.

The great blue whale and many diverse creatures make the waters around Antarctica their home. This is the opposite of life on land. At one point, scientist sought to observe the sea’s creatures by lowering a steel capsule under the ice. It measured six by four feet. Six windows gave the professionals a chance to look into the cold water. Sounds could be detected and recorded through a hydrophone that was placed on the exterior of the capsule.

One jelly fish swam by with tentacles trailing thirty feet behind it. They didn’t see many other fish. Curious and graceful seals frequented the waters around the capsule, using the hole to breathe and checking out the scientists. Scientists could hear them chirp, beep, buzz and whistle through the hydrophone. One scientist said this was the first time he’d ever heard this type of underwater din.

Scientists think the seals use these sounds to navigate and to speak with each other. It’s possible that the seals can find the food that’s often rare in the Antarctic through this sonar.Recordings of the various seal sounds can be investigated. Human ears can’t even hear all the sounds the seals make due to their rapid beat and high frequency. If you are in search of info don’t forget to view this resource best Antarctic cruise.

Just how the sounds are created is still a mystery. Both their nostrils and mouths are very tightly closed when the seals are underwater. The deepest a mammal has ever been recorded to dive is nearly 1500 feet; this was a Weddell seal. One seal was able to stay submerged for over 28 minutes. This is also a record. With a lot of time and care, it was possible for a zoologist to earn the trust of a mother seal and get a sample of the milk that the mother excretes.As mammals, baby seals gain weight faster than any other animals like them. This could be due to the fact that seal weight is far fattier than even human mother’s milk. Newborn seals can multiply their weight five times in just six weeks.

With special diving suits, the seas around Antarctica have been investigated by scientists. Colorful seaweeds, including red ones, filled the ocean’s bottom. Five foot long worms, four foot sponges and big red and white starfish were also there.

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