No landing this morning so we climbed into the Zodiacs and cruised Godthul harbor.
Encountered our first mini icebergs this morning while traveling to Grytviken. I‘m sure there will be many more to come.
During the 18th century, sealing and whaling ships accidentally introduced rodents to South Georgia. These creatures multiplied as they do, and soon proved a to be a detrimental menace to the bird populations. As there are no trees on South Georgia, the more than 30 species of birds that live on the island nest on the ground or in burrows—leaving their nests vulnerable to the rats and mice. This soon had a noticeable impact on the bird population.
Over the course of four years, from 2011 to 2015 and at a cost of some $13.5 million, more than 300 tons of poisoned bait was dropped across 269,000 acres of the island where these rodents were thriving. In 2018 the official announcement was made that the island has achieved rodent-free status. To ensure this remains so, each ship landing in Grytviken is inspected by rodent sniffing dogs.
