Learning to Swim – Mari
A penguin runs towards the water followed by a hungry chick or two. The lead adult jumps in and swims away, while the chicks stop short at the water’s edge as soon as the water hits their feet. What is going on? I witnessed various versions of this behavior by the Gentoo Penguins at Yankee Harbor.
Penguin chicks ask for food by tapping on the adult’s beak. This stimulates the adult to regurgitate food. Sometimes I would see an adult feeding a chick on land, then edge its way into the water, hoping the chick wouldn’t notice. Most of the time they were so intent on feeding that they didn’t, at least not for a while. Then they would realize they had cold feet and run for land.
The reason penguin chicks are reluctant to enter the water is that their downy feathers don’t protect them from the wet as well as adult feathers. The chicks at Yankee Harbor are just starting to get their adult feathers. I saw one chick with partial adult feathers stick its feet in the water, take a few sips, float around for about five seconds, then exit the water quickly, all without adult prompting. Right now the chicks are at home on land, but they will eventually need to learn to be at home in the sea.
We are also learning about our home at sea. Thank you to Fede, Laura, Ocean Tramp, scientist David, and my fellow passengers, Laura and Leigh.
More of Antarctica to come! We sailed down to the peninsula today.
– Mari
