info@hannamichel.com

Wildlife Biologist, Science Communicator, Guide, Lecturer

Hanna Michel

The Arctic Season is coming up!

EN: The counterpart to IAATO, the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators in the Arctic is AECO, the Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators. Everyone working as a Guide on Expedition cruises in the Arctic needs to pass an online assessment. Despite one assessment with general questions, there are specific assessments for different areas of…
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ARA Uruguay – A former Antarctic Expedition Ship // Ein ehemaliges Antarktis-Expeditionsschiff

This is the corvette ARA Uruguay which was commissioned 150 years ago, in 1874. In 1903 this ship came to the rescue of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition led by Otto Nordenskiöld after their ship got destroyed by ice. It is an incredible story of an expedition which for example led to the discovery of fossil…
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A23a – the largest iceberg in the world! // A23a – der größte Eisberg der Welt!

EN: While we crossed the Scotia Sea from the Subantarctic Island of South Georgia to the Antarctic Peninsula in November, we made a small detour to see something spectacular: A23a, the currently largest iceberg in the world. With its area of 3,900 km², it was only temporarily surpassed by another iceberg, A76, in May 2021.…
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Icelandic Killer Whales – New Publication! // Isländische Orcas – Neue Veröffentlichung!

EN: Happy Holidays, everyone! Awesome to have a new paper on Killer Whales published just before christmas. I was able to contribute photos for identification of a couple of individual killer whales when I was working as a guide and biologist on whale watching tours off the coast of Reykjavìk. Photo-identification was one of the…
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Antarctica 23/24 – Part 1

A few impressions from the first couple of trips on the MV Ocean Endeavour. The first whale sightings, the first seals and penguins, the first icebergs, the first landing on sea ice with a fantastic team! Leaving Ushuaia again today heading towards the Falkland Islands first, then South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula at the…
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Stay tuned for more Antarctic stuff! // Bald kommt mehr Antarktis-Inhalt!

EN: Currently on my way to Antarctica via South America, a few days of team building with Intrepid’s awesome expedition team, and getting the ship plus equipment ready for our first voyage of the season in early November. You can also follow me on instagram for more updates. It might take a while here –…
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Antarktis-Vortrag in Mettingen im Oktober // Upcoming lecture about Antarctica in my home town

Am 19.10. um 18 Uhr seid ihr herzlich zu meinem Vortrag über die Antarktis und ihre Tierwelt und mehr bei Draiflessen in Mettingen eingeladen. Mehr Infos gibts hier.

Wildlife in your own garden // Unsere Tierwelt im heimischen Garten

Not very exotic but not less fascinating and extremely important: our local wildlife. Very often we appreciate those things the least that we have right under our nose: Bees, bugs, butterflies, spiders & co. However, they are extremely important for us – for example as pollinators. Yet, they are not doing very well. Pesticides, habitat…
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Australia’s Kimberley 2.0

EN: Back to the Kimberley! New places, new species, new experiences. On a wonderful boat tour on the Ord River, I finally got to see my first Freshwater crocodile (Crocodylus johnstoni)! They’re quite a bit smaller and less notorious than their „big brother“, the saltwater crocodile. Even though like them, freshies are also tolerant to…
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Back to the cold: South Georgia // Zurück in die Kälte: Südgeorgien

EN: First visit of South Georgia this season! February is the perfect time of year to observe the female Antarctic Fur Seals nurse their pups. The lactation period is much longer in this species compared to the other Antarctic seal species – up to 4 months! The moms can’t stay with their pups the entire…
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