Antarctica is looking for employees to count penguins, with salaries of up to €2,400

The British organization UK Antarctic Heritage Trust is seeking employees for seasonal work at the former Port Lockroy research station in Antarctica. 

Depending on the position, the salary can reach about 2,400 euros per month, and the contract lasts approximately five months.

Employees welcome tourists, staff the museum, gift shop, and post office, and also care for the penguin colony and conduct bird counts. The employer covers the costs of housing, meals, and specialized equipment.

The job involves harsh conditions: there is no running water or cell service at the station, and employees must carry water canisters, unload boats, and shovel snow. Housing is communal, and the indoor temperature is around 14–15 degrees.

Recruitment for the 2026/27 season has already closed. Applications for the next season will be accepted once registration opens, which is expected in the spring of 2027.

Source: UK Antarctic Heritage Trust.

On the remote volcanic island of Zavodovsky in the South Atlantic, the total number of breeding penguins has declined by more than 40% over the past 15 years. The colony, once considered the largest in the world, now numbers about 838,000 birds. 

In the Australian city of Warrnambool, a project to protect the little penguin colony on Middle Island using Maremma sheepdogs was scaled back due to erosion and dangerous deep waters surrounding the island.

Ukrainian polar researchers from the “Academician Vernadsky” station recorded a record-early return of thousands of sub-Antarctic penguins to Galindez Island.