ADELIE PENGUINS 



put the Addlies to confusion, causing them to 

 " porpoise " madly away for a few hundred yards, 

 yet once away from the immediate neighbourhood 

 of the arch enemy, they appeared to think no more 

 of him, and behaved as though there were no 

 further need for anxiety, though probably they 

 kept a sharp look-out nevertheless. Evidence 

 goes to show that the sea-leopard is the only living 

 enemy, excepting man, that threatens the life of 

 the adult Adelie penguin. 



One day, as I watched some hundreds of Adelies 

 bathing in an open lead, suddenly the back of an 

 enormous killer- whale (Orca gladiator] rose above 

 the surface as it crossed the lead from side to side, 

 appearing from beneath the ice on one side and 

 disappearing beneath it on the other. To my 

 surprise, not the slightest fear was shown by the 

 birds in the water. Had this beast been a sea- 

 leopard, there would have been a stampede, and 

 every bird have leapt from the water on to the sea- 

 ice. On this evidence I formed the opinion that in 

 all probability killer- whales do no harm to Adelie 

 penguins ; later I saw it confirmed, when a school 

 of killers shaved close past several floes that were 

 crowded with Adelies, and made not the least 

 attempt to get at them, as they might so easily 

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