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Little penguins dive from 15 meters high for their first swim in the Southern Ocean (VIDEO)

Dozens of penguins bravely diving from a huge 15 meter high rock

penguins fall xr antarctica, Penguins

Stunning footage released for the first time by National Geographic shows dozens of baby penguins bravely diving off a huge 15m cliff to swim in the frigid waters of Antarctica for the first time.

Award-winning National Geographic cinematographer Bertie Gregory spent two months tracking a 10.000-member emperor penguin colony on the Antarctic Peninsula, and was lucky enough to capture the unusual scene with his lens, he told 'Good Morning America' .

 

 

"When the chicks take their first dive they usually jump into the sea from about half a meter of ice. We noticed that many chicks bypassed those spots to go somewhere else. So I used the drone to see exactly what was going on and realized they were congregating on the edge of a huge 15 meter high cliff. Then they started jumping in one by one to take their first dip in the Southern Ocean," said Gregory, describing the wonderful scene.

In the video posted on YouTube by National Geographic, the penguins are seen hesitantly approaching the edge of the cliff. Suddenly, one of them jumps into the void and falls into the water with a splash. A little while later he appears to be swimming away safe and sound. Other chicks follow suit, diving from above to enjoy their first bath.

Gregory explained that he himself felt nervous watching the scene, as there were large chunks of ice floating in the water and colliding with them "would be like falling on concrete". However, he says, the little penguins immediately came to the surface swimming, even though they had never done it before in their lives.

According to the New York Post, Gregory's amazing footage showing baby penguins doing cliff diving for the first time will be included in the documentary "Secrets of the Penguins" premiering on Earth Day (April 22) 2025.

Source: protothema.gr