At least someone's having a White Christmas: Emperor penguins frolic on Snow Hill in Antarctica


As Britain enjoys mild weather on December 25, it's good to know that at least someone has had a White Christmas.

However, if you wanted to enjoy the snow with these Emperor penguins you would have to travel 400 miles from civilisation.

Photographed in the freezing South Atlantic waters around the remote South Georgia Island, four days east by boat from the Falklands, the Emperor penguins have such little contact with humans that they come close enough to peck the camera.

Inquisitive: An Emperor Penguin chick standing on snow gives the camera an icy glare in this heartwarming image during an expedition to Snow Hill Island in the South Atlantic

Morning constitutional: Penguins take a group stroll along the ice on a sunny arctic morning



Isolated: The cycle of parenthood among the colony sees females lay a single egg before leaving it behind to undertake a two month hunting expedition Anchored in a small, protected bay near to a massive rookery on the island, photographer Paul Souders spent two hours diving into the water with the Emperor penguins as the Southern summer turned to winter.

Braving the 1.5 degree celsius water to the point where his hands took one hour to get the feeling back, Mr Souders was stunned by the ease with which the penguins accepted him.

F-f-f-f-freezing: Temperatures fall as low as -60C on the island which is a cold and icy wasteland Posing for the camera: Braving the 1.5C water to the point where his hands took one hour to get the feeling back, Mr Souders was stunned by the ease with which the penguins accepted him Frozen: This remote island is home to the largest of the penguin species, the Emperor Penguin Remote: The penguins are so unused to human interaction that they even looked at their own reflections in photographer Paul Souders' camera lens Looking up to his parents: Two Emperor penguins shelter a young chick in the freezing winds Wait a minute, you've already hatched! This chick huddles on his father's feet, where the eggs are kept warm Whee! Penguins slide across the frozen sea ice as they travel up to 50 miles to reach the open ocean

White Christmas: This Emperor penguin with its young chick stands on frozen sea ice in Antarctica

'First off, the water is very, very cold. Barely above freezing,' he said.



'I'd never been in anything like it so it came as a bit of a shock. My face went numb and my hands grew painfully cold.



'But it was utter magic. I'd only ever seen penguins on land and to be honest, they look like idiots there - graceless and clumsy and hilarious.



'But to see them in the water was to see them in their element. They are incredibly graceful, strong swimmers. It's like watching them fly.'

The journey to arrive at the spot saw Mr Souders travel for two days, flying from Seattle to Los Angeles to Santiago in Chile and then on to Stanley in the Falklands. Next he hired a yacht which took four days to reach the remote British territory.

'We'd anchored in a small protected bay outside a massive penguin rookery on South Georgia Island,' said Mr Souders.

'It was late in the summer there, and many of the penguins were fat and happy, their chicks mostly grown.

'So they were curious about the boat anchored there, and even more so when I plopped into the water.

'They swam right up to the camera dome and pecked at their reflections.'

Mr Souders felt privileged to be in the same environment as the swimming birds.

'Some were quite curious about me, circling around me as I floated in the sea and coming over to check out their reflection in the glass underwater camera dome,' he said.

'They were all individuals from the nearby rookery, stopping off to check out the new neighbours.

'I can only stress what a privilege it is to do this work, to see wild animals undisturbed in their natural environments.



'I think it's critical for photographers to accept our responsibility not to not disturb the animals we encounter, and to encourage everyone to respect and protect the natural world.'