Did someone say they'd lost a penguin?

Did someone say they'dlost a penguin? 200,000 young birds search for their hungry chicks

Most parents will know the problem. Yourback is turned for two seconds and your little one has disappeared into thecrowd.Welljust be thankful it’s not a crowd like this.This seaof black, white and brown is created by 200,000 king penguins searching fortheir hungry chicks on the South Atlantic island of South Georgia.

Each year, the kingpenguin colony at Salisbury Plains, South Georgia, produces an astonishing50,000 chicks - a number which is on the rise

And,incredibly given the apparent chaos, the young birds hardly ever get lost– thanks to each having a unique begging call.Thescene was captured by German photographer Michael Poliza after the penguins hadreturned en masse to their home colony for a new breeding season.

King penguins are 3ft tall and weigh up to33lbs. They lay just one egg each year and the fluffy brown chicks take 11months to become self-sufficient, so it’s fortunate for them that theirparents can p-p-p-pick them out.Eachyear, the king penguin colony at Salisbury Plains, South Georgia,produces an astonishing 50,000 chicks - a number which is on the rise.And MrPoliza, from Hamburg, Germany, was left speechless whenhe was met by the noise, smell and breathtaking sight of the enormous colony.

 

This sea of black, whiteand brown is created by 200,000 king penguins searching for their hungry chickson the South Atlantic island

He said:"Nothing can prepare you for opening your eyes and seeing hundreds ofthousands of penguins right in front of you for as far as you can see."Itwas beautiful looking out across a sea of such vibrant colour - I felt a bitlike an opera conductor amidst a one-of-a-kind concert of cries from thousandsof hungry chicks."Theview was even more stunning as it was framed by a truly breathtaking backdropof mountains and glaciers."Thechick is a true 'homebody' in every sense of the word. They need about elevenmonths to become self-sufficient so it's a good job they have such a uniquecry."Kingpenguins can recognise each other's call and can find their mate and theirchick among the 200,000 birds in the colony."EachOctober king penguins across the sub polar Antarctic regions return to theirhome colonies to breed and lay just one precious egg.DedicatedMichael, who has a new exhibition opening in Germanyat the end of October, had to travel to the Antarctic Peninsula on a cruise ship to capture the striking shots.

 

It looks like they'replaying Wheres Wally: The chaotic scenes make it look impossible for the adultpenguins to find their young, but because of their unique begging callamazingly they never get lost

 

Photographer MichaelPoliza, who has a new exhibition opening in Germanyat the end of October, had to travel to the Antarctic Peninsula on a cruise ship to capture the striking shots

He wouldwake up at 4am and go straight from his cabin to the upper deck, where a cranelifted him and a rubber dinghy overboard and lowered them into the icy water.Headded: "Part of the courtship ritual of king penguins is an erect posturewhere both sexes make themselves as tall as possible to impress their potentialmate.

"Duringthe October courtship period, males parade the females with loud calls, anerect posture and a courtship walk - being the tallest certainly impresses thefemales."Itseems like a chaotic mixture of adults and their chicks, and king penguins lookquite comical, but they know exactly what they are doing."Onland, penguins are very curious as there have been no land predators in Antarctica so I was able to get up close to them."Iwould love to go back again as it was a truly fantastic experience."