A king
penguin and fur seals seen on South Georgia Island have mutations that affect
how their bodies make various pigments.
An oddly
colored king penguin stands out in a photograph taken at St. Andrews Bay, South
Georgia Island, in March 2019.
BY DOUGLAS
MAIN
PUBLISHED APRIL
25, 2019
Remote South
Georgia Island, about 1,200 miles east of South America’s
southern tip, is a seasonal home for only a few dozen humans—but many thousands
of seals, penguins, and other creatures.
On a
recent National Geographic expedition to the island, photographer Jeff Mauritzen happened
upon some animals that were birds of a different feather: A king penguin
and fur seals with
separate, yet rare, genetic mutations that make them all appear pale.
The striking
penguin was spotted on a rainy morning, and as luck would have it, the weather
cleared for about ten minutes, just enough time to get some photographs,
Mauritzen says.
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