Revealed: Secret life of penguins
PARIS: Famous for its cuteness and comic gait on land, the penguin also has an enigmatic life at sea, sometimes spending months foraging in the ocean before returning to its breeding grounds.
Zoologists have long wondered where the flightless seabird goes during these long spells away from land - and now French scientists, in a study to be published today, believe they can supply the answer.
A team from National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) attached monitoring devices to a dozen male and female macaroni penguins (Eudyptes chrysolophus) at the onset of winter on the French Indian Ocean territory of the Kerguelen Islands. Weighing just 6 grams each, the gadgets were attached to the penguins' legs by a harmless plastic strap.
