Much in the news of late as a Scottish charity has eradicated all rats. Helped by the rats reluctance to cross the glaciers and therefore allowing area by area cull without the rats scarpering to new pasture. This reluctance to cross the glaciers was of course not shared by Shackleton and two of his men who sailed to South Georgia from Elephant Island. You can now buy a map of the Shackleton Crossing of South Georgia (I imagine I will) including their wrong turn. They landed on the opposite end from the whaling station and walked or tobogganed using coiled ropes.
Neither news story then mentions that Shackleton put on his dinner jacket before approaching the whaling station. This shows a certain sang froid. Shacks then insisted the whalers went back for all his men. His crew all received medals except the Scottish joiner who helped build the boat that saved them. Shacks did not grant him the medal as he moaned too much.
Back to the rats, with them gone now for two years the most southerly song bird the South Georgia Pipit has made a recovery. As has the other disinct breed of duck The South Georgia Pintail.
Time to look at the atlas of the southern ocean.
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