Photo album: "Adélie penguins' life"

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On the contrary to emperor penguins, Adélie penguins come to Pointe Géologie archipelago to reproduce during summer. They can do this because their reproduction cycle is much shorter. Adélie penguin couples have their nests on the islands and come back every year on the same nest. The female lay two eggs they can, then, they can incubate them in turn. When the chicks hatch they go on fetching food for them in turn. They never let them alone because skuas are ready to take them. When they go into the sea another predator is looking for them : leopard seal (leopard seals are strong predators that can reach 4 m long and a weight of 500 kg). There can always be one swimming near the islands. Adélie penguins are very fast underwater swimmer. They can also swim like dolphins jumping out of the water, which allows them to look for a possible danger, without slowing down. They, also jump out of the water to land on a piece of ice or on an island, up to around two metres above sea level.

Adélie penguin grows 45 to 60 cm high and weighs 4 to 6 kg. Like all other penguins it is a bird that does not fly but it is a very fast swimmer.

Adélie penguins on the "beach".

Usually they dive from an ice ridge that allows them to see if there is a leopard seal around. However they hesitate quite a long time before diving, and often one of them would push another one, nearer to the edge, down into the water in order to see if it is attacked by a leopard. Then, they all dive together, another method to limit the damages the leopard could do (that is, it wouldn't be able to attack all of them at the same time).

After the bath.

When they come back from the sea Adélie penguins are very clean. On the contrary, before going they are often full of spots. This is due to the proximity of the nests. When a penguins feel the need to go to "the toilet" it rises its backside and send a gush of droppings in the direction it is at the moment. Bad luck for the other penguin being along the trajectory!

Couple of Adélie penguins with their two chicks.

They are now aware of my presence and their attitude has changed (their eyes are more open and the feathers on the back of their head have risen slightly, it is more visible on the penguin on the left side).

Now they are both looking at me, as to say: " Go away ! No photos allowed!"

Adélie penguins on their nests. The couple, on the right side, have a characteristic posture: they are standing face to face, very close, their bills pointing skywards, and "singing". This attitude, they adopt from time to time, is part of their couple's life, but I am unable to tell what it means.

Adélie penguin on its nest. We can see easily the rays of droppings that leave from the nest in every directions.

Adélie penguins have their nests everywhere and when you have to move across the island you have better to walk away from their nests. There are some aggressive enough penguins that would run for you and, grasping your trousers with their beak, will beat your legs with their hard-like-wood wings. After such an encounter, several bruises will remind you to be more prudent next time.

Adélie penguins are good climbers, in the snow as well as onto the rock. They assist themselves with their bill when the slope is too steep..

These penguins found out they cannot go any farther in that direction.

They go back, therefore, to the path they came from.

Adélie chicks are not as pretty as emperors', but maybe their dark colour has the function of retaining better the sunrays' heat.

We are at the end of January and Adélie chicks are now big enough to fear skuas no longer. They remain alone while together their parents come and go to fetch them food.

Adélie chicks have gathered while they are beginning to moult. Their parents go on fetching them the food they are needing more and more. They will not be able to go into the sea and feed by themselves as long as they have not lost all their down.

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