The gentoo penguin can swim up to 36 km/h through the water before piercing its surface, shooting through the air and “landing” on solid ground.
That makes these otherwise flightless birds the fastest of their kind.
Speed is also a must when they fight amongst themselves for the best nesting locations on Cuverville Island, actually an antarctic peninsula.
Here during November and December, this meager 5 square kilometers of land is shared by up to 9,000 mating penguin couples.
