Researchers discover why hordes of baby penguins leap off 15-metre ice cliffs

The mystery of why hordes of baby penguins congregate at the top of high sheer cliffs in Antarctica has finally been solved − they are there to jump off.

Filmmakers from National Geographic were astonished to see hundreds of fledgling emperor penguins leaping from 15-metre ice sheets into the freezing water below.

It is known that at six months old, the chicks leave their colonies and march to the ocean to take their first swim, but they usually only dive from heights of around half a metre.

Since 2009, satellite imagery has shown that some colonies are breeding and raising chicks high up on ice shelves, and many have been spotted making their way to the edge of steep cliffs.

Now, for the first time, filmmakers have shown that chicks are leaping from the summit of the Ekstrom Ice Shelf at Atka Bay, often belly-flopping into the water beneath, before bobbing to the surface, completely unscathed.

It is the first time this moment has been captured on camera.

The footage was captured in January by Ber tie Gregory for National documentary series Secret soft he Penguins which is due to air next year.

In the film, around 700 baby penguins were seen making their way to the cliff and loitering trying to pluck up the courage to make the jump. Once the first one took the plunge, the others soon followed suit.

“I’ve only ever seen emperors jump in off the sea ice and that is a couple of feet maximum,” Mr Gregory said.

“We know these chicks have grown up together and they stick together.

“Those first brave jumpers seem to give the rest the confidence to follow.

“Some of them are even trying to flap their wings. I had no idea that the chicks would be able to make such a giant leap and not just survive but happily swim off together into the Southern Ocean. That is a pretty unbelievable thing to see.”

Mr Gregory and the production team worked for two months in -5C conditions using drone technology to capture overhead views.

Emperor penguin chicks start to lose their fluffy baby down when they are five months old, replacing it with feathers which they waterproof using oil from their preen gland. In January each year, the new generation leaves their colony en masse in a rite of passage that will take them to the sea for the first time.(© Telegraph Media Group Ltd 2024)