The Antarctic island that's richer in biodiversity than the Galapagos

[n2doc]

Divers last year came up with so many examples of sea life that they still don't know how many they found

By Lewis Smith
Friday, 27 May 2011

An "inhospitable lump of rock" several days sailing from the nearest civilisation has been revealed as more valuable to wildlife than the Galapagos Islands.

South Georgia is the last stop before the icy wastes of the Antarctic and is battered by the elemental forces of the Southern Ocean. Yet beneath the surface of the chill waters that surround the island lives a greater range of wildlife than on the Galapagos, which seemingly offers a much more benign environment.

The first comprehensive survey of the waters of South Georgia, a UK overseas territory, has revealed that despite being just 600km (373 miles) from the Antarctic Peninsula, it boasts 1,445 recorded species.

more

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/the-antarctic-island-thats-richer-in-biodiversity-than-the-galapagos-2289706.html

[formercia]

1. I've been to the Snares, South of NZ.

same type of environment, and like the Galapagos, the resident species show no fear of people, since it is a protected area where only scientific expeditions are allowed. It gives you a feeling for what the Planet was like before people screwed it up.