Adélie penguins at Possession Island, Antarctica

© Tui De Roy/Minden Picture

Love on ice

There’s love in the air here in Antarctica, where these Adélie penguins have congregated after a long winter at sea, and paired up to start their families, gathering in large colonies of thousands and constructing nests made of stones piled together on the shoreline. Love can be a cruel game, and these penguins are known to steal stones from other nests. But when it comes to parenting, Adélie mates make a progressive couple. Once the pair of eggs arrives, the parents will take turns keeping them warm, and both mom and dad will help raise the chicks. In March, Adélie penguins will return to sea, where they’ll spend their winter foraging among icebergs.