Antarctic penguins run a constant risk when
entering or leaving the water from the almost ever-present danger of
their main predator, the leopard seal. Leopard seals tend not to
chase penguins in open sea, but hang around the places where they
jump into the sea from their nesting areas, or where they leave the
sea again as this is gives much more productive hunting.
This gives the penguins a problem when going into
the sea, they have to enter it to go fishing and to get places, but
being the first one in means that they're first in line for any
potential leopard seals. Hanging back isn't any better though as
they may get left behind and end up jumping in on their own. What
happens therefore is that they gather at the edge of the water
becoming quite animated and jostling for position until one near to
the edge gets pushed or jumps in - that's the signal for the rest,
as the odds of survival are far greater when you're part of a large
group, they then all dive in in rapid succession.
Photo; © Paul Ward - Pentax equipment,
100mm lens, 35mm film, E64.
This picture may not be copied or used in any manner without
prior written permission.
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