@sealegacy

#OceanLens: Photos & words by @christmannphoto // “We can learn a ton from emperor penguins and not just about walking funny or sliding on our bellies. I am talking about teamwork and the amazing feats that can be accomplished when individuals unite their strengths. The birds live and breed in the harshest conditions on the planet with wind speeds reaching up to 200km/h and temperatures that can plummet to -50°C. Most of the time penguins will be with their colony in a huddle — a secret weapon against the cold. In a huddle, the colony stands closely together, sticking their heads and beaks into the gaps between the shoulders of the birds in front of them. This way they can share dissipated body heat with the rest of the huddle to stay warm and cozy. They even developed a way of moving birds from the outside into the center and from the center back to the outside by constant movement around the huddle. Every bird gets a chance to stay in the warm center. It's a fair and effective system. Emperor penguins are also great parenting teams. While the female lays the egg and the male incubates it during the winter, both parents take turns in watching after their chick. Only families where parents work together as a team can successfully raise a chick to adulthood. Huddling is a skill that emperor penguins have to acquire through practice. I once watched a group of chicks trying to form their own mini huddle. It was the cutest sight: a few of them stuck their heads together, while other chicks poured in from the surroundings. Since the cozy places in the center were already taken, late arrivals would try running fast and leaping into the middle for a shortcut. And for some of them that actually worked. Crowdsurfing into the center of the huddle is not the gentleman's way, but it was a very humorous sight. It showed me one thing though: These birds live in a harsh environment and yet they manage to adapt and thrive in these surroundings through teamwork. Imagine what we could do if we fostered true teamwork: a 1.5°C climate goal would suddenly seem easy to reach. We owe it to these wonderful birds to work towards the common goal of protecting our planet.

May 30, 2022