The adventurous Warner family in Antarctica in March 2026. “We disembarked from Le Commandant Charcot (in the distant background) and “polar hiked” wearing skis on the Shackleton Ice Shelf. As a testament to the dangers of the ocean and ice, we were required to wear our Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs) whenever off the ship.”
In March this year an auction was held aboard the Compagnie du Ponant’s Antarctic expedition ship, Le Commandant Charcot, on behalf of the Saving Marion Island’s Seabirds: The Mouse-Free Marion (MFM) Project. The auction raised over R600 000 to help save Marion Island’s threatened seabirds. One of the auctioned items was a “Great Penguin Tour” that, once the ship had docked in Cape Town, would take the highest bidder on an all-day outing to view Critically Endangered African Penguins. The winning bid came from the Warner family, who live in Melbourne, Australia. Grace and Ian, and their daughters May and Sophie, were first taken to view the SANCCOB Foundation’s impressive rehabilitation facility a little north of Cape Town and then down the Cape Peninsula to see penguins breeding in the wild in the mainland colony at Boulders Beach, part of the Table Mountain National Park.
The penguin tour was an enjoyable one for both the participating members of the MFM Project team and for the Warners, as Ian writes: “It was amazing spending time with some of your dedicated team on our day trip visiting SANCCOB and the African Penguins at the Boulders. Speaking with your group we could really see and feel how tirelessly and passionately you give of your time to the project’s cause. The day reaffirmed for us what a worthy organisation the MFM Project was of our support.” As a consequence, once back home in Australia, the Warners made a further generous contribution to the project with a 20-hectare sponsorship, placing them in the “Rockhopper Penguin” category on the MFM Honour Roll.
From left: John Cooper, News Correspondent, MFM Project and Sophie, Ian, May and Grace Warner at the Boulders penguin colony on 17 March 2026, photograph by Sue Tonin
Ian and Grace Warner write that they had previously visited Antarctica in 2024, sailing from Christchurch, New Zealand, to Ushuaia, Argentina, aboard Le Commandant Charcot. When they got the opportunity to take another trip to Antarctica they thought their daughters, May and Sophie, might like to share the adventure. “Throughout the 2026 cruise we were exposed to Albie [the albatross mascot who was one of the auction items] enjoying the journey and listened to talks about the wildlife we were seeing”. They also attended lectures on the success of the 2007-2014 Macquarie Island Pest Eradication Project, to rid the island of its rabbits, rats and mice, and on Marion Island and the MFM Project’s intention to rid it of its albatross-killing mice. “The MFM Project will undoubtedly help Marion Island, allowing its many threatened seabirds to recover. This seemed like a project worthy of support.”
Ian Warner works in the financial field as a Private Wealth Advisor with the wealth and investment services firm, Ord Minnett. His wife Grace is a volunteer newsreader for the community Vision Australia Radio network. Dr May Warner is a wildlife and zoo veterinarian with a special interest in conservation medicine. She has practiced as an intern at the Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital and is currently the Veterinary Resident with Zoos Victoria’s Healesville Sanctuary, where she is also pursuing a Masters of Philosophy in Veterinary Science with Melbourne University. She takes an interdependent One Health approach that considers how animal health, human health and ecosystems interact. Sophie Warner is starting her career in mental health.
May Warner monitors a White Rhino’s recovery from anaesthesia shortly after it was dehorned as an anti-poaching measure. The rhino’s eyes were covered and the ears muffled to reduce sensory stimuli. Such close approach is restricted to professional members of the dehorning team
Ian writes that that this was our first time visiting South Africa as a family and that they hope to come back together on a dedicated trip in future. May had previously visited a game reserve in South Africa’s Limpopo Province in 2024 to take part in a rhino dehorning anti-poaching mission as a veterinarian within the team. While the family was at the SANCCOB centre, she was shown around the well-equipped surgery by the resident Clinical Veterinarian, Dr David Roberts, adding to her already broad experience as a wildlife vet.
The MFM Project Team looks forward to keeping in touch with the Warner family and thanks Ian, Grace, May and Sophie for their continued support. If they manage to get back to Cape Town, we have several ideas for a few more enjoyable outings together!
John Cooper, News Correspondent & Sue Tonin, Assistant Project Manager, Mouse-Free Marion Project, 03 June 2026
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From left: Sophie and May Warner, SANCCOB Resource Developer Jacqueline du Plessis, and Ian and Grace Warner at the SANCCOB Foundation Rehabilitation Facility, photograph by John Cooper
The Mouse-Free Marion Project is a registered non-profit company (No. 2020/922433/08) in South Africa, established to eradicate the invasive albatross-killing mice on Marion Island in the Southern Ocean. The project was initiated by BirdLife South Africa and the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. Upon successful completion, the project will restore the critical breeding habitat of over two million seabirds, many globally threatened, and improve the island’s resilience to a warming climate. For more information or to support the project please visit mousefreemarion.org.
