Penguins jump from 15m high cliffs because of hunger

The first footage recorded by scientists showed more than 200 young penguins jumping from a 15m high ice cliff into the sea to find food due to hunger.

A flock of young emperor penguins jump down a steep ice cliff. (Video: National Geographic).

One-of-a-kind drone footage shot in January 2024 captures a rare event that could become more common as sea ice declines and penguins are forced to adapt, according to National Geographic . Like a group of teenagers huddled on top of a cliff, waiting for the brave person to jump into the lake first, hundreds of several-month-old emperor penguins gather at the top of the Antarctic shelf 15 meters above sea level. Driven by hunger, the young birds peered out over the edge of the ice cliff as if pondering whether they would be able to survive a fall from such a great height . Then, one of them took the lead and jumped down.

Some young penguins craned their necks to watch their fellow penguins plummet and land on the cold water below. Seconds later, the brave bird rose to the surface and swam away to fill its belly with fresh fish, krill and squid. Gradually, other young birds followed, jumping down and flapping their wings to move across the water.

Videographers producing the documentary program Penguin Secrets captured the rare sighting with a drone over Atka Bay on the edge of the Weddell Sea in West Antarctica. This is the first footage of a young emperor penguin jumping from such a high cliff, according to scientists.

"I can't believe they filmed it ," said Michelle LaRue, a conservation biologist at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. LaRue once went to Atka Bay to advise the film crew to record the behavior of emperor penguins, from laying eggs to raising chicks.

The young penguin watched its fellow fall straight down and land on the cold water below.

Normally, emperor penguins nest on free-floating sea ice that melts each year, not on ice shelves firmly attached to land. But recently, some populations nest on the ice shelf. Scientists speculate this change may be related to sea ice melting earlier due to climate change. The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies the estimated population of 500,000 emperor penguins as near-threatened, mainly due to climate change affecting their habitat.

In early January 2024, in the last few weeks before the sea ice breaks up at the end of summer in the Southern Hemisphere, filmmakers encountered a group of young penguins that LaRue guessed were likely raised on the northern ice shelf. ice wall. Curious where they were going, they controlled an observation drone overhead. Gradually, more and more young birds joined the group until there were about 200 birds standing at the top of the steep ice cliff.

Gerald Kooyman, a physiologist who has spent more than five decades studying emperor penguins in Antarctica, shared that he had only witnessed a similar event once more than 30 years ago. Peter Fretwell, a scientist with the British Antarctic Survey who has studied satellite images of the penguin population in Atka Bay for several years, occasionally sees penguin tracks heading north towards the cliffs. . He speculated that in January, young penguins followed 1-2 adults who went the wrong way.

Subadult emperor penguins always jump from sea ice into water at a height of less than one meter. But the little penguins in Atka Bay found themselves in the dangerous position of entering the water while feeling extremely hungry. Their parents have swum out to sea, it's time for them to feed themselves. The young birds are waiting for the smooth, water-resistant feathers to grow, replacing the down.

Scientists do not believe that penguins' ice cliff jumping is directly related to climate change causing Antarctica to warm. However, Fretwell believes that reduced sea ice on the continent will force more emperor penguins to breed on ice shelves, so such behavior will be more common in the future. Scientists are concerned about the sudden decline in Antarctic sea ice since 2016 and the consequences for the long-term survival of penguins.

LaRue still has hope in the penguins' ability to adapt. "They are extremely resilient. They have existed for millions of years, witnessing many different changes in their environment. The fifth question is how quickly they can respond to the changes that are taking place . " LaRue said.