With Antarctic fur seal Arctocephalus gazella and king penguin Aptenodyptes patagonicus
Observed by edwardrooks, CC BY-NC
Antarctic reindeer?
Despite reindeer being one of the iconic, even quintessential, Arctic animals, the presence of penguins here doesn't lie - this photo was taken in the far south, on the remote Subantarctic island of South Georgia. Once, this island was a major whaling station, and reindeer were introduced in several phases in the early part of the 20th century as a food source for whalers stationed here, so there would be a ready supply of game that could weather the harsh conditions. Over the 20th century, the reindeer's population grew, and eventually several thousand thrived on South Georgia, very far from their native lands indeed.
This observation is also a look into a lost world - this photo could not be taken today. As the reindeer population grew, they altered the South Georgia landscape and began to compete with seals, terns, and other seagoing travelers - for whom the island is an important place to come ashore to rest or nest - for access to vegetated areas. Management authorities began a program of eradication, and by 2014, Norwegian marksmen and Sami herders had eradicated some 7,000 deer. The final few stragglers were killed off in the following years, and by 2017 these Antarctic reindeer were no more.
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