from Tim Page
            in the pack ice near Sansom Island
            Antarctica
            Wednesday 25 November 1998
 

To the Students at Payne Road State School,
 

Hi there again.  How's it going?  A couple days ago we left Davis Station, after a stay of three days.  It was a great place to be, with loads of animals.  Every time I walked across the ice to the station, I would come across a line of little penguins heading for the sea to have a feed!

We are now stopped in the pack ice, so the helicopters can deliver some fuel to a depot.  Because this ship is an icebreaker, we have left a straight line of water behind us as we go through the ice.  Many animals use this opening in the ice, so if you look out the stern (back) of the ship, you can usually see penguins swimming around fishing.  Yesterday a great big Leopard seal jumped out of the water to try and eat some penguins that were standing on the ice.  Luckily for the penguins, the seal missed and slithered back into the water.

Here are some more questions you sent:
 

1) From Lauren, "I like dancing.  Why are you counting seals?"

We are counting seals, Lauren, so we can understand the environment down here in Antarctica.  Seals are a very important part of the cycle of life here, and we have to know how many there are so we can understand how all the other animals relate to the seals.  If you look at the last email I sent, it explains a little bit more on why we count seals.  By the way, Lauren, my girlfriend, Kaye, likes dancing too.  She is a much better dancer than me.
 

2) From Melissa, "I am 7 years old.  Tim, how old are you?"

Actually, Melissa, I just had my birthday four days ago.  I was born in 1966, so how old does that make me?
 

3) From Liam, "At school I play soccer.  I like counting seals.  Have you been to Seaworld before?"

I'm glad to hear you play soccer, Liam.  I also played it at school and really loved it.  In fact I still play sometimes.  Yes, I have been to Seaworld once before.  Liam, you are in real luck.  It happens that one of the people also helping with the seal survey, Clair, used to work at Seaworld!  Here is what she has to say about the seals there:

"Dear Liam,  at Seaworld there are 29 seals, how many did you count?  Some of them live in areas that you might not have seen.  In the whole world there are 33 different species of seals.  At Seaworld there are 6 different species of seal.  So that means there are 27 other species of seal you may not have seen.

The 6 species at Seaworld are:
- California Sealion
- Australian Sealion
- New Zealand Fur Seal
- Harbour Seal
- Sub-Antarctic Fur Seal

Do you remember Buddy and Claude in the seal presentation?  They are California Sealions.

The seals at Seaworld have a large collection of toys; sometimes the seals choose their own.  Spud the seal loves the broom and rope.  He is an Australian Sealion.  The people who look after the seals also spend a lot of time playing with them.  There are 2 seals, called Mork and Mal, who love being hosed; it's like a body massage for them.

Mork is an Australian Sealion.  He is the biggest seal at Seaworld.  He weighs 316 kilos!  Mal is a New Zealand Fur Seal.  He was found on Fraser Island many years ago.  He was underweight and in poor condition when he arrived at Seaworld.  He is much better now.

In Antarctica we are counting Crabeater Seals.  They mainly eat krill, which looks like a prawn.  They have special teeth that can keep the krill inside their mouth and sieve the water out.  A Crabeater eats about 8,000 krill for one meal!  Other seals eat fish, squid and some eat penguins.  At Seaworld the seals eat 3-4 times a day, and love squid and octopus.  Sometimes if they are quick, they catch the fish that also live in the pools.

Spud the Sealion is an investigator.  One day he went for a walk to visit the other seals.  He also loves sleeping in a big, red plastic bowl.  It's his favourite place to sleep.  The seals in Antarctica sleep on the ice.

   Love  Clair"

Thanks very much, Clair, that was really interesting!
 

4) From Jeffrey, "I have two brothers.  One is called Matt and the other is Timothy.  Have you seen any seals yet?"

Yes, Jeffrey, we have seen over 400 seals.  If you look on the last email I sent, it gives a breakdown of how many of each seal we have seen.  I also have a brother, his name is Rupert and he lives in the United States and works in a police crime laboratory.
 

5) From Cameron, "What is your favourite animal?"

That's a tough one, Cameron.  There are so many amazing animals in the world, that it's really hard to pick one over the other, since every animal has a role to play in the environment.  Having said that, the animal that I probably most enjoy watching is the Humpback Whale.  These are the ones that swim past Stradbroke Island every year, and also go to Hervey Bay.  They are HUGE, but sometimes they fling their whole bodies out of the water and then crash back down making an enourmous splash!
 

6) From Amy, "I think it would be cold down there.  Is it fun sleeping there?"

Yes it is, Amy.  Although it is cold outside, in the ship it is quite warm. I can wear the same sort of clothes I wear in Australia.  I find it good to sleep when the ship is rocking a little bit; it is very relaxing.
 

7) From Charles, "I am very tall.  When the icebreaker swings, do you feel sick?"

Well Charles, I do sometimes.  I am lucky in that I don't get seasick very often.  Some people on the ship were seasick for days, which isn't very fun.  My friend, Mike, gets seasick when he is on small boats, but on big ships he doesn't seem to much.  Coincidentally Mike studies humpback whales!  I am not very tall, Charles.  Do you play basketball?
 

8) From Dominic, "What have you been doing there?"

Many different things, Dominic.  When we are moving through the ice, I help counting seals.  When we are stopped I do lots of things, like read books, talk to my friends and write emails to you!
 

Enjoy the week.  Have fun!
 

Tim Page