Emperor penguin chicks jump 50 feet into the sea – Why evolution is true

The university protest post has exhausted me for the day, not only because reading this stuff is psychologically draining, but also because I’m preparing my lectures for Amsterdam. Tomorrow I will try to resume normal posting, but for now you get a penguin video as lagniappe.

These happen to be emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri), which live on sea ice, so I never saw them during my trips to Antarctica. At six to seven months old, after parental feeding has ceased, they flock to the ocean to begin feeding and begin their lives as free-living animals. This National Geographic Video shows them making an unusual jump into the sea from fifteen meter high ice cliffs.

This reminds me of the mallards at Botany Pond, who build their nests two or three stories above the ground. Then, when the chicks hatch, they have to make a dangerous jump to the ground below (next to the water), urged on by the croaking mother who has flown to the ground. They are naturally anxious, but one chick is brave enough to jump and the others follow. (I have never seen a duckling injured during the jump.) These penguins also seem to make successful jumps, and once one has done so, the others follow. They’re like the proverbial lemmings! I hope they don’t get in each other’s way.

The photography is beautiful.