Amazing footage released for the first time by National Geographic shows dozens of baby penguins bravely diving from a towering 15-metre-high cliff into the icy waters of Antarctica for the first time.
Award-winning National Geographic cinematographer Bertie Gregory spent two months observing a colony of emperor penguins with 10,000 members on the Antarctic Peninsula. He was fortunate enough to capture the unusual scene with his camera, as he told “Good Morning America.”
“When chicks take their first dive, they usually jump into the sea from ice about half a metre high. We noticed that many chicks were bypassing those spots to go elsewhere. So, I used a drone to see what exactly was happening and realised they were gathering at the edge of a massive 15-metre cliff. Then they started jumping one by one to take their first swim in the Southern Ocean,” Gregory described the wonderful scene.
In the video posted on YouTube by National Geographic, the baby penguins cautiously approach the edge of the cliff.
Suddenly, one of them leaps into the void and splashes into the water. A short while later, it appears swimming safely and unharmed. Other chicks follow its example, diving from high up to enjoy their first swim.
Gregory explained that he felt nervous watching the scene, as large pieces of ice floated in the water and colliding with them “would be like landing on concrete.”
However, as he says, the baby penguins immediately surfaced and swam, even though they had never done it before in their lives.
According to the New York Post, Gregory’s amazing material showing baby penguins diving for the first time… cliff diving will be included in the documentary “Secrets of the Penguins,” which will premiere on Earth Day (22nd April) 2025.
(With information from protothema.gr)
