Cameras reveal penguins' efficient hunting techniques

Intimate details of Adelie penguin feeding behaviour have been filmed by Japanese scientists.

Using video cameras and accelerometers attached to free-swimming penguins, researchers have gained a unique insight into the birds' hunting techniques.

Adelie penguins adopted different strategies depending on whether they were hunting fish or krill.

The findings are published in the journal PNAS.

Lead scientist Dr Yuuki Watanabe from the National Institute of Polar Research in Tokyo, Japan, told BBC Nature: "Foraging is the most basic activity of animals, but details of foraging behaviour are poorly known, especially in marine animals."

Although previous studies had examined Adelie penguin's (Pygoscelis adeliae) foraging style using video apparatus or sensor technology, results were limited.

"Previously some researchers attached video cameras to marine animals to observe their foraging behaviour, but this was just a few hours."

Continued:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/21125022