Baby penguins jump from 50-foot cliff in never-before-seen footage

The moment emperor penguin chicks jump off a 50-foot cliff in Antarctica has been captured on video for the first time.

National Geographic and Bertie Gregory have released “unprecedented” footage from Atka Bay in which approximately 700 fledglings embarking on their very first swim find a huge drop blocking their path.

Some emperor colonies have been raising chicks high up on permanent ice shelves; while scientists have witnessed the enormous jumps before, it has never been filmed for television.

The rare footage will feature in Secrets of the Penguins in April 2025 for National Geographic’s Earth Day celebrations.

For more Earth Month content, visit the ourHOME collection on Disney+. Learn more about the historic penguin leap at NatGeo.com.