00:00Did you know there's an island where penguins outnumber humans 40,000 to 1?
00:03This is South George Island, a remote outpost in the Southern Ocean,
00:06north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and one of the most wildlife-dense places on Earth.
00:10We arrived by expedition ship en route to Antarctica with Natia Lindblad,
00:13and before we were allowed on land, everyone was required to scrub boots, gear, and outerwear
00:17as part of strict biosecurity protocols designed to protect the ecosystem.
00:21Because once you land, there's no separation between you and the wildlife.
00:23Millions of king penguins cover the beaches,
00:25elephant seals the size of small cars crowd the shoreline,
00:28and in some places, sand itself seems to move
00:30because there are so many animals packed together.
00:32In the middle of it all sits Griftikin,
00:34former whaling station from the early 1900s,
00:36and the final resting place of Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton.
00:39There's no permanent population here,
00:40it's just a small group of seasonal researchers,
00:42the tiny post office where you can send a postcard
00:44from one of the most remote islands in the Southern Ocean.
00:47Whether we actually receive these postcards still remains to be seen.
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