Penguins ‘pose for selfie’ in Antarctica

Two Emperor penguins in Antarctica have been caught on camera appearing to try to take a selfie.

The flightless birds were filmed “closely inspecting the equipment after stumbling over a camera at a rookery near Australia’s Mawson research station on the ice-covered continent,” says the Daily Telegraph.

Australian expeditioner and researcher Eddie Gault, had placed the camera on the ground near the Auster Rookery hoping to get a shot of the large emperor penguin colony that lives there.

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“It didn’t take long for the naturally curious birds to seize the opportunity for a selfie,” explained the Australian Antarctic Division.

While the video at first captures a handful of penguins from a low vantage point, one bird “soon waddles over to the camera and - with a single impressive kick - angles the screen to focus only on its face,” says the New Zealand Herald.

“Because everyone has that one friend,” quips the paper, another penguin soon nudges its way into the frame.

The Auster Rookery is home to thousands of breeding penguins and is one of around 40 such colonies on the continent.

Naturally the video was a hit on Twitter.

The “adorable footage brings to mind other animal selfies”, says Digital Trends, including the monkey picture that resulted in a lengthy copyright dispute.