GWP- THE ANTARCTIC

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Text and pictures: Ignacio Acuņa, ex 2nd Commandant of the Antarctic Naval Base Arturo Prat

SEPTEMBER 18th IN THE CHILEAN ANTARCTIC (1966)
HOMAGE TO THE FLAG

I felt really happy because of "Being in charge (as 2nd Commandant) of a modest but distinguished detachment of chilean marines representing and defending our country's interests in a forgotten place of the planet"

 "THE CHOLERIC SEAL" INN

"Here we can see three members of the crew making an effort to pay the atention of its scarse audience before the prevailing coldness made the curtain fall"

 MAST WITH ICE AND FROZEN FLAG

"It's amazing, but the human being quickly gets used to the coldness. In person I experienced that up to -18°C my face and hands were able to distinguish the coldness extent. From that temperature and less the difference couldn't be perceived"
ANTARCTIC SITUATION
In 1965 there were 21 countries - among them Chile - original signatories of the Antarctic Treaty who claimed and kept territorial sovereignty through Bases or permanently unhabited stations. Nowadays the geopolitic situation is entirely different. In the last years it was resolved to paralize the territorial claims, to remove every military trace (at the present the Arturo Prat Base is a museum), to foment science and tourism and to accept the joining of nations not totally relationed to the Antarctic (such as India and Brasil)

Unluckily, because of its distance and desolated environment conditions, the Antarctic is being managed by the superpowers, countries which have not always been the best and most trustful environment guardians. That is

 how the US (against every international agreement) has made explorations of petrol, coal and copper with industrial aims. The japanese people goes on hunting whales with impunity. They insist the hunting is with a scientific purpose, but everybody knows that the whales end in the japanese supermarkets. On the other hand, the russian have sistematically started to exploit the krill without calculating the effects it can cause to the fragile polar ecosystem.

Therefore, the task for the new generation is to preserve and protect the natural resources of those far and vast territories. A section of the Antarctic is part of Chile, our national patrimony, and that's why we must protect it and preserve it.

ANTARCTIC TOUR


Seals in the Arturo Prat Base


Albino skua
The antarctic seals "(...) in the land they creep pushing with their frontal wings, helping theirselves with a characteristic caterpillar movement of their bodies (...) They are real greasy balls because in this way they increase the thermic isolation"


Antarctic penguin taking care its son


Penguin group

This posture "Is very effective when a skua overflies a penguin group and giving the warning signal (...) If the defences are efficient, the skuas have to content with penguin baby orphan or dead"
I went to hold in my arms a dying skua, but "(...) It felt my hand and instinctively pressed its very sharp claws against my thick gloves, which were perforated as if they were made of thin plastic, causing deep cuts in my hands"
The antarctic penguins "Show a real smartness and they are also very curious". They seat straight resting in their tails like a "(...) tripod and so they can sleep standing. They defend themselves flaping strongly the wings (...)"
In order to get a good picture I started to ring my keyring "(...) I was really surprised when I was suddenly surrounded by a dozen of penguins looking puzzled as if they were asking 'How do you that noise?' "

Seal in the Arturo Prat Base
"(...) When I went to see it, I realized it was really bad injured and that it was dead (...) It could be atacked by an orca"
Marine Leopard (carnivorous)
"(...) It pillages for months our bay seeking penguins, which were cuartered by means of blowing before it feed them"
"The antarctic food chain is very isolated. The chilly waters are extraordinarily rich in minerals, what allows the existence of abundant plancton. The plancton allows the generation of much krill. The krill is the food of whales, seals and penguins (...) Although the fauna seems to be abundant, it is really vulnerable"


Weddell seal with its newborn
The dogs of the sledges had to be fed with seals. "Call me soft hearted, but I think it was a stroke of luck for me that the dogs of the last year had been taken away. I donīt think I had the courage of shooting, skinning and cuartering these kind and defenceless animals (...)"

MYSTERY
What are the requirements that a businessman must fulfill to exploit a specific natural resource in the Antarctic?

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