Penguins don’t topple watching aircraft — study

Rumours of falling penguins have abounded since British plane and helicopter pilots returning from the 1982 Falklands War claimed their flights had toppled the earth-bound birds.

To settle the issue, a favourite of cartoonists and penguin jokes, environmental research scientist Richard Stone spent five weeks watching helicopters fly over two king penguin colonies in the Antarctic, studying their effect on more than 1,000 birds.

“We saw birds moving away from the noise (of helicopters and planes),” he said. “Not a single bird fell over after 17 flights.”

“As it (the helicopter) approached, the birds went quiet,” he said. “They didn’t appear to turn around and look.”

Some birds waddled away from the helicopters. Others became quiet. A few minutes later, they waddled back.

“We don’t know if it’s the noise or the visual aspect–whether it looks like a potential predator,” Stone said.