The love life of penguins in the cold world of Antarctica is truly amazing. Their unique love story, the way they express love by giving a pebble, their lifelong commitment to a partner, and the equality in raising their chicks are fascinating. Their body structures adapted to the cold environment, their movement in the sea, and their methods of escaping from enemies are also models for humans.
The love life of penguins in the cold world of Antarctica is truly amazing and a model for humans. Some of their love is beautiful, as evidenced by this lone penguin that recently walked alone towards the sea without following the flock. It went to a mountain 70 km away from the place where it was separated from the flock. This is a scene from a documentary. This is a part of the scene of the documentary film ‘Encounter at the End of the World’ directed by Vena Hezog.
Exactly 19 years later, this video has gone viral. But these penguins have a love story. A male penguin searches for the most beautiful, smooth stone ( Pebble ) to declare his love to the female penguin he likes. He places that stone in front of the female penguin’s feet. If the female penguin picks up the stone, it means that she has accepted his love! Then the two of them build their little nest with the same stones.
Most penguin species (especially Magellanic penguins) mate for life. Although they travel thousands of miles each year, they return to the same place to find their old mates during breeding season. It is not easy to identify a mate in a group of thousands of penguins. For this, each pair makes a unique ‘call’. Upon hearing that love call, the partners recognize each other and unite.
There is equality in penguin love. When the female penguin lays her eggs and goes to sea to feed, the male penguin holds the eggs on his feet, protecting them from the cold. During this time, the male penguin waits for his chick without eating anything for months. Penguins are seen hugging each other to show their love for each other and clean each other’s wings with their beaks. This strengthens the bond between them. Although penguins belong to the group of birds, they cannot fly in the sky. However, their wings work like ‘flippers’ in the sea. They can swim as fast as if they were flying underwater!
A natural ‘tuxedo’ dress
Penguins are black and white. It’s not just a style, it’s their armor. Being black on top, to enemies looking from above the ocean, they look like the darkness of the depths. Being white on the bottom, to enemies looking from underwater, they look like the light of the sky above.
Brine is drinkable!
Penguins drink salt water from the ocean. They have a special gland (Supraorbital gland) near their eyes. This helps filter excess salt from the blood and expel it through the nose. Penguins do not have teeth. However, they do have spine-like structures on their mouths and tongues. These help them to grip slippery fish tightly and swallow them straight.
Penguins are very slow when they walk. So they slide on their bellies to move faster on the ice. This is called ‘tobogganing’. It is very cute to watch. Most wildlife runs away when they see humans. But penguins are not afraid of humans because they have never seen a bigger enemy than them on land. Sometimes they come close to humans on their own!
