A Southern Giant-Petrel flies over Drake’s Passage in the Southern Ocean.
There are no vultures in Antarctica, so birds like the Southern Giant-Petrel have evolved to fill the scavenger niche. These hulking birds (the size of an albatross) will eat practically anything, from krill to dead Elephant Seal carcasses, and occasionally attack injured penguins. To defend themselves, giant-petrels are able to spit a concentrated stomach oil so foul that, should it land on you, your clothes will never smell the same. Because of their ship-following habit (hoping for scraps), the Southern Giant-Petrel is one of the most familiar sights for visitors to the Southern Ocean and Antarctica.