Penguins ‘pose for selfie’ in Antarctica
Flightless birds inspect filming equipment left near their colony
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.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
‘The sport is still run on a shoestring’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
3 tips to help protect older family members from financial scamsthe explainer Prevent your aging relatives from losing their hard-earned money
-
Will Trump’s oil push end Cuba’s Communist regime?Today’s Big Question Havana’s economy is teetering
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal