Marta Island (Isla Marta), situated in the middle of the Strait of Magellan, is home to abundant birdlife and more than a thousand Patagonian sea lions. Circumnavigating the island in a watercraft provides opportunities to observe and photograph the colony from a safe and respectful distance. Called lobos marinos (“sea wolves”) by local Chileans, these giant pinnipeds (males can weigh over 700 pounds/320 kg) form a noisy group as each sea lion competes for the best spot on the coastline. Other wildlife sightings include imperial cormorants, skuas, southern gulls, Antarctic pigeons, and, if visitors are lucky, dolphins. 

Various species of penguins are found in Chilean Patagonia: magellanic, gentoo, rockhopper and macaroni. Birds species populations are impressive: an estimated 1.35 million pairs of blue petrels, 99,000 pairs of diving petrels, and 55,000 pairs of black-browed albatross. There are also grey-headed albatross and shy albatross. The ocean waters adjacent to Tierra del Fuego are home to southern right whales, humpbacks, blue whales and southern minkes. Dolphins, sea lions and seals (fur, leopard and southern elephant) are commonly observed here, as well.

Helicopters offer guests stunning bird’s-eye views of the splendor of Patagonia from breath-taking summits to the seemingly endless Chilean fjords. The diversity of the Patagonian landscape appreciated from air is astounding. In addition to the fjords and snow-covered mountains, there are blue-tinted icebergs, glaciers, channels, fjords, rainforest, rugged shorelines abundant with wildlife.

Salisbury Plain, the vast, flat expanse of green spreading out in front of Grace Glacier, was discovered by the famous British Captain James Cook during his voyage of 1772-1775. Today, it’s known for its colony of 250,000 breeding King penguins. The Salisbury Plain colony is South Georgia’s second-largest king penguin rookery. Elephant and fur seals also haul out on the nearby beaches to breed, give birth and molt.
 

Russia’s newest National Park is the northernmost and the largest protected natural territory in Russia. The park occupies two remote archipelagoes, the northern part of Novaya Zemlya and the archipelago of Franz Josef Land. Together, they’re sometimes referred to as “The Edge of the Earth.” This expansive territory is primary habitat for many iconic Arctic mammals, such as polar bears, walruses and narwhals, as well as diverse bird species. This region is where the first European visitors overwintered. The national park is home to some well-preserved Soviet polar research stations.

This Russian state nature reserve compromises most of the remote islands of the Kara Sea, some coastline and parts of the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. At 4 million hectares, it’s one of the largest nature reserves in the world and the largest in Russia and Eurasia. The impetus to create the reserve originated with a group of scientists who were conducting field research on the Taymyr peninsula in the late 1980s. They wanted to protect the unique ecosystems of this Arctic region. The reserve was approved in 1993 and today it remains a protected habitat for many important bird and mammal species. 

The Russian Arctic abounds with wildlife: polar bears and walruses along with beluga, narwhal and bowhead whales. That abundance is due to a number of reasons: the remoteness of Russia’s Arctic coastline; minimal human presence; and the biological productivity of its waters. In the Barents and Kara Seas, the warm waters of the Atlantic mix with the cold waters of the Arctic Ocean and fresh water discharges of Russia’s massive continental rivers (such as the Ob and Yenisey) create a unique and thriving ecosystem. The seasonal sea ice habitats are especially inviting to polar bears and marine mammals in the summer. 

Once-secret Soviet polar stations—established in the Arctic during the Cold War—have recently opened to foreign visitors. But the Arctic figured prominently in Russia’s history long before that. Some of the first European incursions into the Arctic started on the shores of the Russian Arctic. Willem Barents, for instance, became the first European to overwinter in Novaya Zemlya in the late 16th century, and Franz Josef Land became the home base for North Pole expeditions in the age of polar exploration. In recent years, polar explorers have been lured to Severnaya Zemlya’s Cape Arkticheskiy, less than 1,000 kilometres from the North Pole.