Penguins can fly.

A recent visit to the Falkland Islands revealed that penguins can fly, or at least some penguins can jump very well! The images today show the rather spectacular efforts of Gentoo Penguins who choose their moment to come ashore, after feeding, very carefully. Their habit is to gather speed as they approach the shoreline and then hurl themselves out of the water onto the beach. Presumably, this is to minimise their exposure to predators as they make the transition from the water, where they are remarkably swift and agile, to land where they are more cumbersome.

Gentoo Penguin launches itself from the water
Gentoo Penguin launches itself from the water onto the beach
Feet forward for landing
Feet forward for landing, a dramatic exit from the water.
a Gentoo leaps toward the sand
Dramatic skies over the beach as a Gentoo leaps toward the sand. Although only a single bird in this frame, it was not unusual to see groups of 4 to 6 penguins at a time coming ashore in this manner.

I’ll post more images from this adventure at a later date but am currently restrained by VERY limited internet access. ~KD

Falkland Islands 17/02/2019