Headland in Antarctica
Lions Rump lies in the foreground of this image; nearby Low Head can be seen in the background on the right. Two rookeries of chinstrap penguins occupy the headland. Lions Rump is a conspicuous headland 2 km (1.2 mi) north-northeast of Low Head , forming the west side of the entrance to King George Bay , on King George Island , in the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica . It was charted and given its descriptive name in 1937 by Discovery Investigations personnel on the Discovery II [ 1] Chopin Ridge runs between Lions Rump and Low Head. The rock feature known as "Martello Tower" lies 4 km (2.5 mi) to the north-northwest.
Important Bird Area
The headland has been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports a large breeding colony of Adélie penguins , with about 12,000 pairs recorded in 1980. Other birds nesting at the site in smaller numbers include gentoo and chinstrap penguins , southern giant petrels , Cape petrels , Wilson's and black-bellied storm petrels , snowy sheathbills , south polar and brown skuas , kelp gulls and Antarctic terns . Southern elephant seals , Antarctic fur seals and Weddell seals breed on the beaches. The boundary of the 149 ha (370-acre) IBA is defined by the boundary of ASPA 151 , designated for the protection of the ecological values of the area, including the lichens , vascular plants and birds, and of representative examples of maritime Antarctic habitats.[ 2]
References
public domain material from "Lions Rump" . Geographic Names Information System United States Geological Survey .
62°8′S 58°7′W / 62.133°S 58.117°W / -62.133; -58.117
