00:00Music
00:08Penguins live in a range of picturesque habitats around the world.
00:12And here on the southwestern coast of Africa, these colonies of African penguins
00:16have claims of breathtaking shores of Stony Point and Boulder Beach as their home territories.
00:23Ancient granite boulders resting on white sand that spills out into the Indian and Atlantic Ocean
00:29make up the perfect foundation for a seaside home base.
00:38There is plenty of room to engage in daily activities including sunbathing, grooming and swimming.
00:49And don't worry if you strap for time because combining all three activities is common practice in these waters.
00:59Music
01:04But these waters aren't always calm and forgiving.
01:08A combination of crashing waves and slippery rocks can make it very tricky to navigate a safe route back to
01:14shore.
01:16Some African penguins have figured out how to use the force of the waves to their advantage
01:20and ride over the rocks to their destination.
01:24Or perhaps he just got lucky.
01:28The next challenge is to find a space of your own.
01:31Living alongside thousands of fellow colony members can have its fair share of difficulties.
01:37This malting male has taken great measures to avoid the crowds by claiming a spot all to himself high above
01:43the drama.
01:44And by the looks of it, he is in no mood to share.
01:49Other penguins choose to find solitude in more isolated locations.
01:54Or perhaps blending in with a new crowd is the best solution.
02:02While some African penguins are busy finding time for themselves, others are doing quite the opposite.
02:09African penguins are monogamous, meaning that the same pair will return to the same colony and nest site each year
02:16for breeding.
02:17And preparing for the arrival of a new chick takes some preparation time.
02:22Each mating pair will design a nest.
02:24And these can range from well-crafted burrows in the sand to pre-made depressions under boulders.
02:31Each nest is then lined with carefully selected pieces of vegetation to prepare for the egg.
02:37And the responsibility to incubate the egg is taken on by both mother and father.
02:43Chicks are fully dependent on their parents for about three months after they hatch.
02:47Then after several stages of malting, they will begin to develop their adult lineage and search for a life partner
02:54of their own.
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