Why Are Emperor Penguin Chicks Leaping Off 50-Foot Cliffs in Antarctica?

A record-breaking 40°C heatwave brings a brutal lesson about non-linear climate change

As climate change melts sea ice in Antarctica, more emperor penguin chicks are breeding on the permanent ice shelf — forcing them to jump from higher heights into the ocean. Photographer Bertie Gregory used his drone’s powerful zoom lens to maintain distance from the scene. (Source: NatGeo)

Hundreds of juvenile emperor penguins, driven by their gnawing hunger, gather at the edge of a 50-foot (15-meter) Antarctic ice cliff, eyeing the freezing sea below. How do we get down there? — they…