Some of the most abundant waters on Earth are found in the polar regions, thanks in large part to a creature that rarely grows bigger than your thumb. Today is World Krill Day, and we are thrilled to join in the love for these little powerhouses of life. Krill feed everything from penguins and seals to seabirds. Even the gargantuan blue whale, the largest animal ever to have lived on Earth, survives primarily on these tiny, shrimp-like animals. Some swarms are so densely packed with billions of krill that scientists can locate them using satellite imagery, as they can change the appearance of the ocean’s surface. This is one reason places like South Georgia, where Antarctic krill like to gather seasonally, are overflowing with life. Where healthy swarms of krill thrive, so does nearly everything else in the food web. Images by PaulNicklen #WorldKrillDay #AntarcticKrill #AntarcticAvengers #CloseTheSouthernOceanToFishing