In June 1911, during Captain Scott's expedition to Antarctica, three men left their base at Cape Evans in the midwinter dark, when the sun never rose, to fetch eggs. Dr. Edward Wilson, the expedition's chief scientist, had planned it for years. He wanted the eggs of the Emperor penguin, a bird that lays in the coldest, darkest months of the year. Wilson believed an embryo's growth replays its ancestors' history. If that was true, a very young penguin embryo might show a missing link between reptiles and birds. That made the eggs worth almost any risk. Wilson chose two companions, Henry Bowers and Apsley Cherry-Garrard. Their goal was a penguin colony on the far side of the ice, and they would have to reach it without a single hour of sunlight. Could three men drag their gear across the frozen dark, take eggs from the birds, and come home alive?
The Worst Journey in the World
Three men hauled 757 pounds of gear through Antarctic winter darkness to collect Emperor penguin eggs.
Eggs in the Dark
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Dr. Edward Wilson want Emperor penguin eggs?
Wilson believed an embryo's development replays its evolutionary history. He thought very young Emperor penguin embryos might show a missing link between reptiles and birds. Emperor penguins lay their eggs in midwinter, so the collecting trip had to be made in darkness.
How did the three men survive after the blizzard destroyed their shelter?
They lay motionless in their sleeping bags under drifting snow for two days, and their body heat melted small pockets in the ice beneath them. They sang hymns to keep their spirits up. When the storm eased, Henry Bowers spotted the missing tent caught in a snowdrift.
What became of the penguin eggs and the science behind them?
A zoologist's analysis in 1934 concluded that the embryos did not support Wilson's theory linking reptiles and birds. The three surviving eggs remain in the Natural History Museum's collection today. Apsley Cherry-Garrard's 1922 memoir gave the trek its lasting fame.
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