Antarctic sea life includes penguins, blue whales, orcas and fur seals. The Emperor penguin is the only penguin that breeds during the winter in Antarctica, while the Adelie Penguin breeds farther south than any other penguin. The Rockhopper penguin has distinctive feathers around the eyes, giving the appearance of elaborate eyelashes. King penguins, Chinstrap penguins, and Gentoo Penguins also breed in the Antarctic.

Population of that island varied from over 1,000 in the summer (over 2,000 in some years) to some 200 in the winter. The first child born in the southern polar region was Norwegian girl Solveig Gunbjorg Jacobsen, born in Grytviken on 8 October 1913, and her birth was registered by the resident British Magistrate of South Georgia. Antarctica has no government and belongs to no country.

Shackleton himself and three other members of his expedition made several firsts in December 1908 – February 1909: they were the first humans to traverse the Ross Ice Shelf, the first to traverse the Transantarctic Mountain Range (via the Beardmore Glacier), and the first to set foot on the South Polar Plateau. On 14 December 1911, an expedition led by Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen from the ship Fram became the first to reach the geographic South Pole, using a route from the Bay of Whales and up the Axel Heiberg Glacier.