Antarctica truly is a quiet and serene place. As a pioneering scholar at the end of the world, I found that this stereotype was not always the case. Upon seeing Gentoo, Adélie and chinstrap penguins, I realized that humans are not the only creatures that seem to always be in a hurry.

The hustle and bustle of penguin life seemed very intense at times as the melting snow revealed numerous pebbles vital for nest building. The ensuing rock race and theft of neighbor’s pebbles to impress a potential mate bore striking similarity to the classic human material struggle.

An even more perplexing facet of penguin life was the astounding trail system utilized quite heavily by these hurried creatures. Penguin superhighways dominated the landscape as thousands traversed hundreds of meters from one nest to another in a frantic manner. I often wondered what date they were late for as the traffic congestion would frequently cause penguin pileups.

I may never know why the penguins were in so much of a hurry, as their lives seemed so simple by comparison. However, I now realize that the complex struggles of life are borne by other species aside from ours.

Text and photo by Brandon Nunnery, SUNY-Brockport student on the 2010/2011 Antarctica program. Brandon studied on not only the Antarctica program but also the Australia: North Queensland and Fiji programs in 2010.