As they climb, the penguins may stop for a wash in freshwater streams or waterfalls. They like to clean the salt and mud from their feathers. When a female finally reaches her family there is lots of excited calling as everyone recognizes each other. Then the mother regurgitates the food she swallowed at sea into the mouth of her hungry chick. Life can be dangerous for the chicks. They have to deal with predators, too, especially skuas. Skuas need to find food for their own young, and they are quick to grab any penguin egg or young chick left unguarded by a parent.
Penguin stopping for a wash
A skua chick
As a penguin chick gets older, it becomes more curious about its surroundings. But it can get into trouble if it strays from its parents. By the time it is three or four weeks old, the chick will join a group of other chicks, called a crèche. Being in a crèche helps keep the chick safe from predators, so both its parents can go to sea to catch food. The parents continue to feed the chick, and by the time it is about ten weeks old it will lose its soft, downy coat for a sleek covering of waterproof feathers. Soon it is ready to head out to sea.
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