Penguins
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Macaroni penguins
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
There are
about five million penguins in Antarctica. When a penguin is found dead,
members of the colony use their beaks and wings to dig a big hole. When the
hole is deep enough, the dead body is rolled into it and buried. The rest
gather round in a circle and sing, ‘Freeze a jolly good fellow, freeze a jolly
good fellow . . . ‘
Actually,
dead penguins are scavenged by skuas and petrels. The few that die on land
rather than ice do not decay but dry out. Strong winds erode the bodies,
gradually turning them into dust.
