About a thousand penguins were born near the Ukrainian Antarctic station “Akademik Vernadsky”
About a thousand penguins were born near the Ukrainian Antarctic station “Akademik Vernadskyi”, located on Galindez Island. About this informs National Antarctic Science Center (NASC) on Facebook.
According to Ukrainian scientists, there are still eggs left in some nests on the island, so the number of newborn chicks will continue to grow. Most penguin families currently have two chicks each. As biologist Svetozar Davydenko told, babies are at different stages of development: some have just hatched, while others are almost adult in size.
Galindez Island is home to mainly sub-Antarctic penguins, which are also called donkey penguins because of their loud characteristic cry. These birds arrive on the island in the spring to breed. They build nests, usually lay two eggs, and then hatch chicks. Last season, the number of subantarctic penguins on the island reached a record 7,000 individuals.
A video published by the National Center for Environmental Protection shows adult penguins feeding their chicks. When the chick begs for food, the adult penguin passes the partially digested wing from its gullet directly to its beak.
As a reminder, “Akademik Vernadskyi” is the only Ukrainian Antarctic station, located on Cape Marina of Galindez Island, 7 kilometers from the western coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. It is a permanent meteorological and geographical observatory, the main task of which is to conduct scientific research in the region.
The station was founded in 1947 as a British research base called “Faraday”. In 1996, Great Britain handed it over to Ukraine. Then the station was renamed in honor of Academician Volodymyr Vernadsky, an outstanding Ukrainian scientist and the first president of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
In 2021, for the 25th anniversary of the Ukrainian management of the station, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, signed a decree marking this important date. In the same year, Ukraine purchased the Noosphere icebreaker, which helps ensure the operation of the station. This icebreaker also delivered the first Ukrainian expedition to the Faraday station in 1996.
On December 12, 2024, the Noosphere icebreaker began its fourth Antarctic season, delivering cargo, researchers and supporting Ukrainian scientific work in Antarctica.
