#emperor penguin and chick

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Troublemaker

An emperor penguin and its chick watch as a hungry Adélie penguin draws near, looking for a snack.

by Stefan Christman

Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from National Geographic:

Like a group of teenagers crowding at the top of a cliff, waiting to see if someone will be brave enough to jump into the lake first, hundreds of months-old emperor penguins gather at the top of an Antarctic ice shelf towering roughly 50 feet above the sea. 

Motivated by hunger, the fledglings peer over the edge, as if considering whether they might survive a polar plunge from such a height.

Then one bird goes for it. 

Some of the onlookers crane their necks to watch it plummet and splash into the icy water below. Seconds later, the chick surfaces and swims away—off to fill its belly with fresh fish, krill, and squid. Gradually, other fledglings follow, tumbling and flapping wings built for traversing water, not air.

Filmmakers producing a documentary series called Secrets of the Penguins, which will debut on Earth Day 2025 on National Geographic and Disney+, captured the extraordinarily rare scene by drone in January in Atka Bay, on the edge of the Weddell Sea in West Antarctica. It’s the first video footage of emperor penguin chicks leaping from such a high cliff, according to scientists.

Ordinarily, emperor penguins nest on free-floating sea ice that thaws and blows away each year, not on the ice shelf, which is firmly attached to the land. But lately, some colonies have been nesting on the shelf. Scientists theorize that the shift could be related to increasingly earlier seasonal thawing of the sea ice caused by climate change.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the world emperor penguin population, estimated to be about 500,000 birds, as near threatened due in large part to how climate change is impacting its icy realm.

[sapphicspamton]

WHAT GOOD IS A BIRD IF IT CAN'T [Ascend]? ??

[aquatic-bees]

You vs the guy she tells you not to worry about:

[dream9art]

Antarctic Warmth

Even in the coldest places, hearts can be warmed.

Link Even in the coldest places, hearts can be warmed. Date Published: October 24, 2024 Tools Utilized: Poser 13, Photoshop NotesI actually finished this scene several days ago but waited to render the final, high-res version until I received my new graphics card. It’s a Nvidia 4070 Super and so incredibly faster than my old 3060. This scene only took about two or three minutes to render 8×10″…

[iindigenize]

i only have 3 episodes left of shirokuma cafe & i really dont know what im going to do with myself after i finish it:(((

[xtruss]

Why Are These Emperor Penguin Chicks Jumping From a 50-Foot Cliff?

The First-of-Its-Kind Footage, Taken in January 2024 Via Drone, Captures a Rare Event that May Become More Common as Sea Ice Declines and Penguins are Forced to Adapt.

— Photographs and Video By Bertie Gregory | By Rene Ebersole | April 11, 2024

Emperor penguin chicks jump off a 50-foot cliff to take their first swim in Atka Bay, Antarctica. Photographer Bertie Gregory used his drone's powerful zoom lens to maintain distance from the captivating scene.

Like a group of teenagers crowding at the top of a cliff, waiting to see if someone will be brave enough to jump into the lake first, hundreds of months-old emperor penguins gather at the top of an Antarctic ice shelf towering roughly 50 feet above the sea.

Motivated by hunger, the fledglings peer over the edge, as if considering whether they might survive a polar plunge from such a height.

Then one bird goes for it

For the first time, experts have filmed emperor penguin chicks leaping 50 feet off an Antarctic cliff. The incredible footage will appear in the series "Secrets of the Penguins," which will debut on Earth Day 2025 on National Geographic and Disney+.

Some of the onlookers crane their necks to watch it plummet and splash into the icy water below. Seconds later, the chick surfaces and swims away—off to fill its belly with fresh fish, krill, and squid. Gradually, other fledglings follow, tumbling and flapping wings built for traversing water, not air.

Filmmakers producing a documentary series called Secrets of the Penguins, which will debut on Earth Day 2025 on National Geographic and Disney+, captured the extraordinarily rare scene by drone in January in Atka Bay, on the edge of the Weddell Sea in West Antarctica. It’s the first video footage of emperor penguin chicks leaping from such a high cliff, according to scientists.

As climate change melts sea ice in Antarctica, more emperor penguin chicks are breeding on the permanent ice shelf—forcing them to jump from higher heights into the ocean.

“I cannot believe they caught it on film,” says Michelle LaRue, a conservation biologist based at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. LaRue, who did not witness the jump, had visited Atka Bay to consult on the film crew’s third year of documenting emperor penguin behavior, from egg laying to chick fledging.

Ordinarily, emperor penguins nest on free-floating sea ice that thaws and blows away each year, not on the ice shelf, which is firmly attached to the land. But lately, some colonies have been nesting on the shelf. Scientists theorize that the shift could be related to increasingly earlier seasonal thawing of the sea ice caused by climate change.

At about five months old, Emperor Penguin chicks began to shed their down and grow their adult feathers, preparing for a life spent partially at sea.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the world emperor penguin population, estimated to be about 500,000 birds, as near threatened due in large part to how climate change is impacting its icy realm.

In early January 2024, in the final weeks before the sea ice broke up at the end of the Southern Hemisphere summer, filmmakers spotted a group of chicks that LaRue thinks were likely raised on the ice shelf waddling north toward the cliff. Curious about where they were headed, the filmmakers dispatched a drone for a bird’s-eye view. Gradually, more chicks joined the dawdling group, growing in numbers until there were a couple hundred standing at the top of the bluff.

‘I’m Gonna Have To Go’

Gerald Kooyman, a research physiologist who has spent more than five decades studying emperor penguins in Antarctica, says he has only seen such an event once—more than 30 years ago.

“Drifting snow had formed a gently sloping ramp from the sea ice onto a grounded iceberg, and a flock of departing chicks had marched up the ramp onto the berg,” Kooyman writes in his book Journeys with Emperors, published in November 2023.

“They were stopped by a 20-meter [roughly 67-foot] cliff over a sea that was sometimes open water and other times crowded with ice floes.” Over the course of a couple days, almost 2,000 chicks assembled at the ledge.

“Finally, they started walking off the cliff,” writes Kooyman, an Emeritus Professor with the Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California.

“Not jumping or leaping, just stepping out and falling head over heels, sometimes doing two flips before hitting the water with a resounding plop.”

Most of the fledglings survived the jump into the icy waters. The chick on the left that fell into a crevasse used its beak to climb out and leap the rest of the way.

This phenomenon is rare, say scientists who monitor penguins from satellites in space. Peter Fretwell, a British Antarctic Survey Scientist who has studied Satellite imagery of the Atka Bay emperor colony for several years, occasionally sees penguin tracks going north toward that cliff. He theorizes that the chicks in January may have followed one or two vagrant adults that “went the wrong way, basically.”

Juvenile emperors usually fledge from the sea ice, hopping just a couple feet into the ocean. But these fledglings found themselves in a tricky location for entering the water while likely feeling extremely hungry, the scientists say. Their parents had already gone to sea, sending the message that it’s time for them to fish for themselves, and the chicks had been sitting tight waiting for their sleek, waterproof adult feathers to grow in, replacing their down.

“When they get to this cliff face, they’re like, ‘Alright, I see the ocean and I need to get in there,’” LaRue says. “This does not look like a fun jump, but I guess I’m gonna have to go.”

Resilient Birds

While the scientists do not think the cliff-jumping incident was directly related to climate change warming Antarctica, Fretwell says the continuing decline of sea ice on the continent may force more emperors to breed on ice shelves, therefore making the behavior more common in the future.

Scientists have been concerned about the sudden decrease in Antarctic Sea ice since 2016 and the likely dire consequences for emperor penguins’ long-term survival.

“We estimate that we could lose the whole population by the end of the century,” Fretwell says. “It’s heartbreaking to think that the whole species may be gone if climate change continues on the path that it’s on at the moment.”

LaRue remains hopeful about the emperors’ ability to adapt, and she considers the recent high dive caught on film a testament to their hardiness.

“They’re incredibly resilient,” she says. “They have been around for millions of years; they’ve seen lots of different changes in their environment. It’s a question of how rapidly they’re able to deal with the changes that are happening—and how far they can be pushed.”

[headlinehorizon]

Emperor Penguin Chicks at Risk as Antarctic Ice Retreats: Latest News

Recent research reveals the threat faced by emperor penguin chicks due to the retreat of ice in Antarctica. Discover the impact of climate change on these iconic creatures and the urgent need for action.

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Emperor penguin chicks jump off a 50-foot cliff to take their first swim in Atka Bay, Antarctica. Photographer Bertie Gregory used his drone's powerful zoom lens to maintain distance from the captivating scene. 

Photograph byBertie Gregory

[watercolourcritters]

trans kids we love you, forever and ever!

[ID copied from alt text: Marker art of an adult emperor penguin looking down at it's fuzzy baby. The chick has been coloured in pink, blue, and white, the colours of the trans pride flag, and looks up at the adult. Both look happy. Text reads "I will always love you, no matter what (heart symbol). The background is plain white, and the artist's signature reads @ watercolour critters. End ID.]

Instagram | Etsy | Tip Jar

[bun-a-day]

May I request emperor penguin bunny? (adult or chick plumage, your choice!)

205🐇07.24.23 penguin bunnies

[sorayourbirgilcameraman]

Hello Sora!

Have you seen pictures of Pesto, the Juvenile Emperor Penguin who is taller than most adults and 10 kg heavier than his parents? I know he’s a different species from Birgil, but how would he react to seeing him?

Ooooo I saw him on the news! He is a huge king penguin chick, can’t wait to see his form after moulting! I like that he waddles with quite an attitude and has a big appetite.(*ˊ˘ˋ*) (Birgil can relate)

Below is Birgil’s comment:

Thank you for the question, Muzz!

Have a nice day!

[herpsandbirds]

I was looking for penguin photos for penguin awareness day and noticed you didn't have any Emperor Penguin photos, so could we see some of them, please?

Here is family of Emperors for you…

Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri), parents with chick, family Spheniscidae, order Sphenisciformes, Snow Hill Island, Antarctica

Photograph by Ian Duffy

[lowkeiloki]

what i think different penguin species would think about flying:

Emperor penguins

Emperor penguins dream about being able to fly as chicks and each one is very convinced *they* will be the one to first accomplish it. As they grow up, however, they lose interest in flying and become content with the way they are.

Adélie penguins

The concept of flying is actually a laughing matter to the Adélie penguins. Why would you want to fly? Ever seen a fish in the sky? I don't think so. You know what is in the sky? Skuas. And nobody likes those guys.

Chinstrap penguins

Chinstrap penguins get heavily annoyed when the topic of flying is brought up so it's best not to. Maybe chinstraps are bitter because they can't fly. Or, maybe, it's simply because flying birds (like skuas and petrels) are always bad news for the chinstraps.

King penguins

Flying is nice, but King penguins are okay with not being able to fly. Really, theyre over it. Believe them.

Gentoo penguins

Gentoo penguins are strong believers in the idea that penguins can, indeed, fly, they only do it underwater. Don't try to correct them on that, it's very rude.

Rockhopper penguins

Flying is a highly divisive topic amongst all subspecies of rockhopper penguins. Better not bring it up at all to avoid squabbles.

African penguins

African penguins wouldn't mind being able to fly as long as they don't have to trade off their swimming and diving skills. It would be convenient.

Fiordland penguins

Fiordland penguins would much prefer the ability to climb trees very well. But flying is the next best thing.

Yellow-eyed penguins

Yellow-eyed penguins show no particular interest in flying. They do, however, envy the penguins from Antarctica with no land predators.

Little blue penguins

Little blue penguins would love to be able to fly, it would be so much fun to them.

[primeministerofantarctica]

like genuinely if you think the first image is comparable to the second there is no helping you

should i be distressingly concerned that people are falling for the most obvious fake "cute baby animals" ai pics? have y'all never seen a baby animal or sm? can i get a thousand dollars for having to see the most ugly-ass "cute baby penguin" photo possible?