Two Penguins Stumbled Upon a Camera in Antarctica — But Wait Till You See Their Cool ‘Selfie'
It is well known that emperor penguins, also called “toboggans,” porpoise, jump, leap, swim, and slide over ice cliffs, often clumping together in huddles to stay warm or performing a series of displays like head movements, flipper raises, and fancy walks to attract a mate. But it is generally assumed that they can’t do many of the feats that humans can, such as slurping down from a bowl of noodles or writing software code. In 2018, however, two emperor penguins shattered this long-held assumption after they stumbled upon a strange object lying on the expanse of sea ice.
A 38-second footage posted by the Australian Antarctic Division (@AusAntarctic) reveals that the object was a camera left unattended on the ice by a researcher. When the penguins discovered it, they unknowingly pressed its flash and snapped a selfie, or one may say, “shelfie,” for they were taken on the Antarctic ice shelf. Expeditioner Eddie Gault had placed the camera near the Auster Rookery during his visit to Australia’s Mawson research station, as per ABC Science. Auster Rookery,, a plain of sea ice, cradles over 12,000 penguins, whose high-pitched squeaks undulate through the icy stretch. This adorable footage offers a “bird’s eye view of life in Antarctica,” the organization said in the Facebook caption.
The footage opens to reveal a herd of penguins clustered in groups wandering around on the sea ice. In a moment, one penguin waddles towards the camera, gives it an impressive kick, and flips it upside down so it faces the sky. The penguin then looks down, flashing its jet-black head and pearly white body on the camera. Its preauricular area, featuring orange-gold undertones, can be seen on the side of its beak shooting downwards from its mouth.
Meanwhile, another pudgy penguin straddles into the picture. With their pointy beaks turned towards the camera, the duo poses above the camera for a few moments, shaking and corking their heads and eventually moving away as if bored by the human-made object. “It didn’t take long for the naturally curious birds to seize the opportunity for a selfie,” the Australian Antarctic Program described in the post.
On X, where the same clip was shared, thousands of people jumped in to express their amazement at the cool selfie-snapping duo. “And the Award for this year's Coolest Duo goes to... the Antarctic Penguins,” wrote @sharingan81. @kerrimcdoughall quipped, “And the best selfie award goes to ... #Penguins.” @pissedegg likened the footage to “Grandparents after getting a smartphone,” whereas it reminded @quick_hbittany of the “Beastie Boys video.” @rosemlafreniere said it was “spectacularly breathtaking.” @gflaughsalot wrote, “This is adorable. And the camera angle makes them look like giants.”
This is, of course, not the first time an animal has snapped a selfie. The Washington Post reports that a Gentoo penguin in Antarctica snapped an open-beaked photo of itself using a GoPro camera from a Canadian cruise company in 2013. In 2011, a male crested black macaque named Naruto took a picture of himself using a camera that belonged to wildlife photographer David Slater. Slater was slammed with the infringement charge of breaking the legal copyright of Naruto, but Gault is not likely to face any such legal trouble as he didn’t initiate the recording in the first place.