Humans often look to penguins
as if they're relationship gods.
Like, they mate for life and they have really high fidelity rates.
But is any of that actually true?
Let's find out.
Awww.
Look at them.
So, I think these ones are king penguins
and they're incredible.
Like, I mean, look at them.
They're supremely adapted to getting around underwater.
And a penguin will spend, like, 75 per cent of its life
or something like that in and under the water.
Penguins do almost everything in groups.
They like to nest in sort of big groups
that they call rookeries or colonies.
They like to hunt in groups.
They generally just like to hang out in groups.
Oh!
Is that one nibbling the camera? (LAUGHS)
So, they're much more comfortable there
than they are on land.
Weeee.
That one, in front though, it's going hard.
It's actually more energy efficient when they can...
to do the tobogganing on their tummy
rather than walking because their little feet are so ungainly.
Uh-oh. They get split!
Oh, no.
Oh, noooo!
Run!
Run! You can make it. Go, mate!
Oh, he's going. He's going.
Yes!
(LAUGHS)
It's funny 'cause they're probably
all going to the water, right?
But the instinct is for safety in numbers.
His instinct, its instinct is to be with its friends.
So, one of the strategies they have for still being able to
go to the supermarket and come back and feed their babies
is lumping all of their kids together into a crèche.
So, yeah. That's adorable.
Aww! Look at those little pink tooties.
Oh... did he just nick someone's rock?
So, gentoos are nest builders
and they will use vegetation to make their nests.
But this is somewhere where there is no vegetation.
It's only pebbles.
What they want to do is create a nice sort of bowl shape
so if it snows, it means that there will be really good drainage
so the egg doesn't sit in a pool of water
in that muddy sort of stuff.
So, in the battle to win a female's heart,
he'll be looking for the perfect pebbles.
♪ When you say you love someone
♪ It doesn't come undone
♪ You fire the starting gun
♪ When you say you love someone
But the pressure is so intense to have the perfect rocks
that you just might turn to a life of crime.
♪ When you love someone
Oh, no. There's an unfortunate teenager
in the background that's got like a mullet going on,
halfway through a molt.
Oh...
Look away, everyone.
If you are under-18, please look away.
(LAUGHS)
It's about to get randy...
So they're doing a courting dance.
He's moving into position.
She's moving the tail to the side.
The cloaca will become visible in five,
four, three, two...
(CHEESY MUSIC)
And... done.
So, yeah. Penguin love.
Do they mate for life?
Most penguins do not mate for life.
There are some that have long-lasting relationships
and there are others that have long-lasting relationships
and have lots of sex on the side.
And there are others still that just get a new man
every single year.
Yeah, yeah.
I mean, if the penguin wants to get out there
and, you know, experiment
Who are we to get in the way?
So, whether they're monogamous,
I would say in some cases, but not all.
So, southern rockhopper penguins
are an interesting case.
They sort of seem to mate for life.
They'll come back as the same pair again and again and again.
So, what's the secret to their success?
Well, they spend very little time together.
It's like 20 days a year, if that.
And the rest of the time they spend very far apart.
They essentially go to opposite corners of the globe.
And that's the secret to a good relationship.
Even if these birds aren't the hopeless
lifelong romantics that you thought they were,
you've got to give them some credit
for being some of the best parents in the world.
And on top of that, they survive by being in just vast numbers,
in extremely harsh environments.