Adélie penguins diving off an iceberg in Antarctica

© Mike Hill/Getty Image

One giant leap for penguins

These Adélie penguins are jumping for joy because it's World Penguin Day. Or maybe they're just looking for a snack as they dive off this iceberg. Native to the land and surrounding waters of Antarctica, Adélie penguins migrate to their coastal breeding grounds in late October or November. They can dive as deep as 575 feet, and swim as far as 185 miles round trip to find krill, fish, and squid.

The smallest penguin in the Antarctic, Adélies are one of only two penguin species (the other is the Emperor penguin) that live exclusively on the Antarctic continent. Huge colonies of Adélies were once spread throughout the Antarctic Peninsula and the coastline of the continent, but as climate change took hold, populations declined in some areas. Fortunately, a robust colony of some 1.5 million Adelie penguins was found on the Antarctic Peninsula's Danger Islands.