Beagle Channel Sea Lions

As we didn’t get on down to Antarctica this season we had to make the most of the wildlife in the Ushuaia area. Friday it was penguins, Saturday were foxes and woodpeckers in Tierra del Fuego national park, and today we had sea lions, seals and various birds in the Beagle Channel. We went with Tango Che, one of the sightseeing companies close to the Ushuaia port, and carrying a maximum of 12 passengers was ideal to get close up to the wildlife. Today we were fortunate to have little wind and a calm channel, although blue sky and a few extra degrees would have made the day better!

It is amazing how different animals congregate en masse on specific islands, with sea lions and cormorants on one island, seals on another, cormorants on another, and even penguins on their own island. The morning started with the boat getting remarkably close to the sea lions of Alicia island, where there are groups of Southern sea lions divided up into a single male and his harem of many females. On De los Lobos island we saw South American fur seals, with a few sea lions mixed in. The seals were extremely agile frolicking with each other in the waters close to the island – in this area the only predators they have are the occasional orca or leopard seal that strayed from Antarctic waters. There were a few islands covered with sea birds, with the biggest being De los Pajaros island, where primarily imperial and rock shags (cormorants) nest on what look like small mounds of poop. We also saw the very majestic looking Black-browed albatross flying very low across the waters of the channel.

To top off the trip we rounded the small island where the Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse is located. Put into service in 1920 it is still operational today, guarding the entrance to Ushuaia.

On the way back to port we were served a couple of glasses of the locally brewed Beagle Roja IPA – funny that however cold you are a nice refreshing beer always seems to do the trick!

March 24th 2013