The first baby penguins were born near the Ukrainian Antarctic station "Akademik Vernadskyi" — two in one nest.
This was reported by the National Antarctic Science Center.
The find was discovered by the biologist of the 29th UAE Svitozar Davydenko, who monitors the success of penguin reproduction. The babies were found in the same nest where the first eggs appeared — on a rock near the geocosm research laboratory.
The first cub is already active — it feeds, squeaks, so it is about half a day old. And the second, probably, hatched only before the arrival of the scientist, because it was still in pieces of the shell and was hiding under an adult penguin.
Now the babies will stay in the nest with their parents for about a month. They will take turns to take care of them: they will feed them with wings from their beaks, they will warm them and protect them from birds of prey.
Newborn penguins are covered with gray down. They will also start changing it to the usual black and white feathers in about a month. And later, small groups of children will gather in the "nursery", which will be watched by several adults.
Usually, by this time, the baby has already reached the size of its parents and continues to actively beg them for food. Sometimes adult birds run away from children, and they catch up with them to eat.
On Galindez Island, where the Ukrainian station is located, mainly subantarctic penguins nest. They lay an average of two eggs, sometimes three. Males and females incubate them alternately.
The subantarctic penguins are the largest and most colorful of the species that nest on Galindez. They can grow up to 81 cm tall, have red beaks, white patches above their eyes, and are dressed in tailcoats. They are also warm-blooded, unlike other species that prefer the cold.
Ukrainian biologists are observing these birds in the context of climate change, as the growth and southward movement of their nesting colonies is one of the undeniable evidences of warming in Antarctica.
- In mid-October, the “great return” of penguins began on Galindez Island. Thousands of subantarctic penguins were occupying nesting sites as the sea ice melted. The penguins built nests of pebbles to settle and lay their eggs. And in early November, the first penguin egg appeared near Vernadsky.
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