We are waiting for chicks. The first penguin egg this year was found near the station of Ukrainian polar explorers — photo

In about a month, it will be possible to observe penguin chicks near the Antarctic station Akademik Vernadskyi. The nest with this year’s first egg was located on a rock near the laboratory where scientists are continuously receiving radio frequencies for geocosm research.

“According to the deadline, I already understood that the first egg was about to appear. So I purposefully searched and checked the nests, because it is very important for us to fix the exact date. With it, we can monitor whether there are any changes over the years and how it depends on external conditions, in particular climate change,” said UAE biologist Svitozhar Davydenko, who is responsible for monitoring the success of penguin reproduction.

A UAE biologist discovered a nest with the first egg of the year

National Antarctic Science Center / Facebook

The discovery was made thanks to the analysis of the behavior of penguins. Davydenko says that if the penguin does not move away when the scientist approaches, but stays on the nest and clings tightly to it, then there is definitely an egg there.

We will remind, on the island of Galindez, where the Akademik Vernadsky station is located, mainly subantarctic penguins nest. These birds lay 2-3 eggs and hatch them in turn. There is still a lot of snow on the island, so not all penguin nests are ready for hatching eggs.