Penguin Yearning
Category
Birdlife
Location
Snow Hill, Antarctica
Gear
CANON R5II +RF100-300MM F2.8 +1.4X EXT; 1/1250; F4; ISO 100
Description
Of everything I witnessed at Snow Hill, this moment moves me to tears. Look at what the image shows: two adults are arched over a chick, their beaks are lowed and their attention is total. Outside of that protective shelter a smaller chick sits alone pressing itself against the female for warmth but not getting any response. I didn't understand what I was seeing at first. Both chicks had begged for food with their heads lifted. The adults preened only the larger one. The smaller chick lowered its head, as if rejected, yet heartbreakingly persistent. Just waiting at the edge of a family that isn't theirs. Our penguin expert Fabrice Genevois confirmed it later after looking at the images. Orphaned Emperor chicks attach themselves to unrelated adults, drawn to any warmth they can find. But a parent with its own chick will not feed another. Survival means finding an adult who has lost theirs which in a large colony can be rare. The little one kept trying. So, I still hope it found its “penguin protector” and survived. The power of this image is in the gestures of the devoted parents and the fact that the smaller chick is still there. Still close. In that single detail lives everything: the cruelty of instinct, the stubbornness of life, and the thin, extraordinary line that separates the two.
Photographer
JULES OLDROYD
Social Media
Instagram: julesoldroydphotography
Facebook: julesoldroyd
Website: https://www.julesoldroyd.com
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