There is nothing to prevent baby emperor penguins from entering the water. Even if it’s a huge ice cliff.
The chicks’ courage in the face of adversity is truly unparalleled, with hundreds recorded diving deep off Antarctic cliffs in January.
This “unprecedented” footage was shot by National Geographic’s award-winning British cinematographer Bertie Gregory.
The penguin chicks in the clip below are jumping up knowingly and perhaps a little hesitantly, but the sight is “pretty incredible,” Gregory says.
“I never expected these chicks to make such a big leap. And not only did they survive, they happily swam to the Southern Ocean with us. How was your first swimming lesson?” say.
Watch the series of “incredible” leaps here
It is not uncommon for emperor penguin chicks to march toward the ocean at a young age, even when they are only 6 months old. According to National Geographic, they swim for the first time by jumping just two feet off the ice.
Others jumped from much higher altitudes, purposefully heading toward a “sheer ice cliff” to make their first jump. Satellites have been recording the deadly jump since 2009, but what happens next has remained a mystery until now.
Gregory wonders aloud as he sees a flock of chicks moving together towards the edge, along the edge of a huge ice cliff. …Where are these chicks going? ”
They stop just short of the edge.
“That cliff must be 40 to 50 feet high,” Gregory said. “I’ve only ever seen emperors jump off sea ice, and that’s up to several feet high. There’s certainly no way they would be thinking about jumping off of there.”
One chick…one big leap
One chick reaches the edge, adjusts its position slightly, and then makes a big, brave leap into the icy water. It makes a big splash and quickly swims away.
“I can’t believe it. He did it,” Gregory says.
The remaining chicks take the successful dive as a signal to move forward, and every few seconds a few chicks jump into the water.
“So we know these chicks grew up together. And they’re stuck together,” Gregory says. “I think a lot of things will start to jump. That first brave jumper seems to give the rest of the guys the confidence to follow. Some of them are going to take flight.”
National Geographic clip is just the beginning, documentary coming soon
The “never-before-filmed” act you just witnessed is part of a larger National Geographic documentary series scheduled to premiere on Earth Day 2025 (April 22) is. Stay tuned for more information on our award-winning SECRETS OF series, SECRETS OF THE. penguin.
