• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Sad reason emperor penguin chicks are jumping off a 50-foot cliff in record-breaking footage

Home> News> Animals

Updated 21:05 12 Apr 2024 GMT+1Published 21:04 12 Apr 2024 GMT+1

Sad reason emperor penguin chicks are jumping off a 50-foot cliff in record-breaking footage

The rare footage of the penguins is part of an upcoming Disney+ documentary

Ben Thompson

Ben Thompson

Footage of hundreds of emperor penguins diving at the edge of a cliff in Antarctica has a heartbreaking backstory behind it.

The shocking footage features in an upcoming National Geographic documentary Secrets of the Penguins, which is set to be released on Earth Day 2025.

Gathered beside a 50-foot cliff, the birds peer over the edge and consider whether they should jump.

Eventually, one takes the leap of faith - quite literally.

Advert

The others watch on, some craning their necks, as the bird splashes into the icy water below.

Once it surfaces, the brave penguin swims off to fill its stomach with fish, prompting the others to follow suit.

Usually, these birds would nest on free-floating sea ice.

There's a sad reason why. (National Geographic/Disney+)
There's a sad reason why. (National Geographic/Disney+)

But due to increasingly earlier seasonal warming caused by climate change, they have no choice but to nest on the cliffs.

Advert

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the emperor penguin is considered as near threatened, with a population of 500,000.

Gerald Kooyman, who wrote a book about emperor penguins, claimed to have only seen the spectacle on video occur once before - thirty years ago.

He said: "Drifting snow had formed a gently sloping ramp from the sea ice onto a grounded iceberg, and a flock of departing chicks had marched up the ramp onto the berg.

"They were stopped by a 20-meter [roughly 67-foot] cliff over a sea that was sometimes open water and other times crowded with ice floes.” Over the course of a couple days, almost 2,000 chicks assembled at the ledge.

"Finally, they started walking off the cliff."

Advert

The doc airs on Earth Day next year. (National Geographic/Disney+)
The doc airs on Earth Day next year. (National Geographic/Disney+)

Even scientists who monitor penguins from space with satellites say this is rare.

Although experts aren't saying cliff diving is caused outright by climate change, some are drawing links.

If emperor penguins continue to breed on cliff faces, this type of behaviour will become more common, according to Peter Fretwell, an Antarctic Survey scientist.

Climate change does pose a threat to the survival of the species however.

Advert

Fretwell said: "We estimate that we could lose the whole population by the end of the century.

"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."

Some scientists remain optimistic that the penguins' hardiness - as demonstrated by their cliff dives - will see them adapt to survive.

Featured Image Credit: National Geographic/Disney+

Topics: Animals, Environment, Disney Plus

Ben Thompson
Ben Thompson

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • Scientists strapped GoPro to a sea turtle and made an incredibly powerful discovery from footage

Choose your content:

4 hours ago
7 hours ago
  • 4 hours ago

    Jurors reach partial verdict in Sean 'Diddy' Combs sex-trafficking trial

    The jury reached a partial verdict after more than 12 hours of deliberations, following weeks of disturbing testimony.

    News
  • 7 hours ago

    Archaeologists make 90 metre long Ancient Roman discovery buried on the ocean floor

    Divers excavated something in Italy that could reveal Roman-era secrets

    News
  • 7 hours ago

    'Worst shark attack ever' saw desperate crew feed dead to sharks as they circled in bloodbath

    If you've seen Jaws, then you'll know about this

    News
  • 7 hours ago

    'Infuriated' swingers speak out on the impact Diddy's 'freak-off' parties had on community

    Sean 'Diddy' Combs' lawyers caused an outcry in the swinging community

    News