Nearly 700 emperor penguin chicks were filmed taking their first plunge into frigid waters from a daunting 50-foot ice cliff. The breathtaking dive was seen as a crucial rite of passage for the young penguins, marking their very first swim as their parents had already gone to sea, experts said.
The breathtaking footage, which captured a moment that has never been caught on camera before, will be part of the upcoming documentary series called “Secrets of the Penguins.”
For the first time ever, a camera captured the moment where hundreds of penguins took the leap from a 50-foot ice cliff
Image credits:bertiegregory
“It’s called fledging, when they take their first swim,” BertietoldGood Morning America.
“Normally they jump off of sea ice, which is one or two feet high. We were noticing that these trains of chicks were going past to a different place,” he was quoted saying. “So I launched the drone, flew it over there to see what was going on, and realized they were stacking up on the edge of a huge 50-foot ice cliff.”
Bertie’s drone captured the scene where the penguins peered from over the edge of the cliff and hesitatingly looked down at the inviting ocean, sprawling and glistening under the sun about 50 feet away from them.
Finally, one fearless penguin took charge and courageously leaped into the water below.
Image credits:National Geographic
“When they get to this cliff face, they’re like, ‘Alright, I see the ocean and I need to get in there,’”saidMichelle LaRue, a conservation biologist from New Zealand’s University of Canterbury in Christchurch.
“This does not look like a fun jump, but I guess I’m gonna have to go,” Michelle added.
“They were falling and there were big chunks of ice floating in the water beneath them, so it’s like falling onto a chunk of concrete,” Bertie told Good Morning America. “But, to my amazement, they were not just surviving, but popping up and going, ‘I can swim!’ This is their first swim ever, the first swim of their lives.”
“I had no idea that the chicks would be able to make such a giant leap,” hesaidin the video. “And not just survive, but happily swim off together into the Southern Ocean … How’s that for your first swimming lesson?”
“I cannot believe they caught it on film,” said conservation biologist, Michelle LaRue
The thinning of Antarctic Sea ice has also made scientists increasingly concerned about the survival of emperor penguins in these regions.
“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,” Peter added.
Conservation biologist Michelle chose to stay hopeful and believes the ability of emperor penguins to adapt could help them deal with the changes taking place in the white landscape of Antarctica.
“They’re incredibly resilient,” she said. “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.”
People online had plenty to say after watching the caught-on-camera-for-the-first-time incident
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