Mikołaj Golachowski

Mikołaj still lives in his birthplace city of Warsaw, Poland. A biologist by education, he has had a lifelong passion for both natural and exploration history. His childhood love of, and fascination with, cold regions was fulfilled while studying behavioral and genetic ecology of various carnivores in the winter forests of northeast Poland. In 2002, he was awarded his PhD and then undertook his first overwintering expedition to the Polish Antarctic Station, Henryk Arctowski, as a scientist, where he studied the reproductive strategies and genetics of southern elephant seals. Subsequently, he returned three more times to work at Arctowski including another year-long expedition as the base commander and leader of the 32nd Polish Antarctic Expedition.

Mikołaj began his work on expedition ships in 2006, enabling him to happily share his enthusiasm and knowledge of Antarctic and Arctic nature and history, working as either the marine mammal expert or historian onboard. When not on a ship, Miko spends his time caring for his daughter, Hanna Gaia, and their motley crew of creatures including three cats and an introverted tortoise. He works as a translator and author of books and articles on ecology, nature conservation and history, for both children and adults.