There’s a bird couple that only ever has one chick,
and they go to the ends of the earth to look after it.
In Antarctica,
an emperor penguin has laid one egg.
She has put everything into it and now has to feed herself
his tongue for the winter.
She’ll be back with food in 65 days.
He huddles under, dancing Southern nights.
As spring returns,
he realizes the egg is hatching
because there’s only one chick.
The bond forms with the individual and they learn to recognize each other.
And there’s no food on the ice.
The chick needs its mother to return.
She brings a crop full of silver fish
or squid.
It’s the father’s turn to walk to the sea.
But some mothers arrive too late.
And rare and.
Out of a desperation to keep one egg from freezing.
A trick to keep one little character fed against all odds.
We can recognize what he would call emotion.
As spring progresses,
the ice melts and the sea gets closer.
Fishing trips become shorter.
Cheeks demand regular attention for a month or so.
Then one day they just walk off.
Some parents are reluctant to let them go.
They form
teenage gangs which hang out together and their parents
have to find them for meals.
Now they can both go.
On fishing trips.
