For some reason it seems like this week of Wild Facts has gone to the birds. We have talked about the Hawaiian Honeycreeper, the Hammerkop and now we are heading to Antarctica to learn more about the beloved but sneaky Adelie Penguin. We will discuss the sneaky and criminal ways of this penguin shortly but first lets find out how these birds received their name. As you might expect, they were named after a woman…the wife of 1840’s French Explorer Jules Dumont d’Urville who happened to be called Adele. Nothing says “I Love You” like naming a new species of penguin after the love of your life. I am guessing he was in her good books for quite some time.

The Adelie Penguin:  A Life of Crime

Unfortunately, Jules Dumont d’Urville didn’t know that some of these penguins are thieves. Or maybe he did know but I bet he didn’t tell his beloved wife that the thieving birds reminded him of her. Let’s back up for a second and discuss how these cute, waddling penguins can be lead to a life of crime. You see the Adelie Penguins must build a nice, big, stone nest in order to impress the female penguins. Let’s face it, there are only so many stones in Antarctica and it requires a lot of hard work to gather them all up. Needless to say, some Adelie Penguins have found a sneaky way to build their nests without having to do all of the hard, physical labour. Yep, they steal from their neighbours! Check out this amazing footage from the Discovery Channel showing the sneakiness of a such a penguin.

Who knew that a cute and innocent penguin could be so mean to one another. I guess this just shows that any animal can be taken down the path of crime if the conditions are perfect for it.

Unwillingly Taking it for the Team

Believe it or not, the Adelie Penguin shows even more selfishness when it comes time to jump into the freezing, Antarctic water. Basically, all of the penguins gather along the edge of an ice cliff. Eventually, the group will succeed in pushing one of the unfortunate penguins off of the cliff, while they all strain their necks over the ledge to see if the sacrificial penguin made it safely. If he did then the rest of the group follows by jumping off the ledge. I guess when you live in a harsh environment such as this, you have to always be on the lookout for yourself. I understand the survival instincts but I am still a little disappointed that something so cute could be so selfish.