their daily penguin idalis
live in a world of ice they feed under
pack ice
and rest on ice floes
nowadays though the ice is unreliable
[Applause]
a daley’s famously can put up with
hardship but these problems are new
where there used to be ice now there’s
open water
and the air is the warmest it’s been
since the last ice age
chicks wait for their parents and what
used to be frozen ground
but it’s now as muddy as a pigsty
this colony used to be the most
southerly outpost
it’s not anymore other dailies are
setting up colonies even
further south by following the adele’s
redistribution
scientists can trace the effects of the
changing pack ice
their dailies keep having new
experiences invaders for instance
chin strap penguins which avoid pack ice
do better in places where their dailies
are suddenly uncomfortable
fur and elephant seals are turning up
too
[Applause]
their dailies can’t move not this year
anyway
not before their chicks are grown so
they’re stuck in the mud
and as the long twilights turn into
actual sunsets and short nights
the parents have to go further away for
pack ice and food
when a parent comes back its chicks
recognize its call
and are led away on a long steeple chase
over the rocks
to a place where they can be fed in
peace
adelies usually have two chicks each and
the most aggressive one is always fed
first
as the pack eye shrinks food is scarce
now
skewers are particularly alert to weak
chicks that are not being fed
[Music]
sometimes strong chicks are attacked as
well
a frightened penguin often regurgitates
its krill and the skewers
gratefully eat that too
tension between skewers and penguins
increases as summer nears its end
both know it’s important to fatten up
before they leave for the winter
[Music]
until a few years ago this was solid ice
now it’s just broken ice flows and the
water is warmer and saltier
the emperor penguin colony is nearer
than it’s ever been to the open sea
the chicks this year are very healthy
they’re seven months old and already as
big as adult adelies
being right next to the sea means that
their parents have quick access to fish
and squid
and can feed them more frequently
that’s the good news the bad news is
that the ice is still melting back
and the chicks don’t have their swimming
feathers yet it’s possible that the
whole
colony will disappear into the sea
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