Researchers have found a way to study penguins in the wild without making them nervous.
Emperor penguins are very shy. So much so that when biologists approach, these penguins back away and their heart rate goes up. This is not something scientists need when checking heart rate, health and other penguin parameters.
An international team of scientists and filmmakers, led by Yvon Le Maho of the University of Strasbourg in France, created a remote control rover disguised as a chick to warm up to shy penguins in Adelie Land, Antarctica, which is where the 2005 documentary "March of the Penguins" was filmed.
The robot is so convincing that penguins essentially talk to it, as if it is a potential mate for their chicks, according to the Associated Press.
Researchers were able to watch some 650 feet away while controlling the robotic penguin.
It took more than one attempt to make a proper robotic penguin however. The first disguised version of the rover was made of fiberglass, but it wasn't convincing enough and scared the real birds away, Le Maho said in a new study.
It took researchers five versions until they were able to make the right one. The current penguin is covered in gray fur, has black arms, a black-and-white painted face and black beak.
The real penguins didn't move away from it and even sang to it with "a very special song like a trumpet," Le Maho said, according to the AP.
Le Maho believes that the adult penguins were trying to find a mate for their chicks and they were listening for a response. The rover wasn't programed to make a sound, however.
"They were very disappointed when there was no answer," Le Maho said. "Next time we will have a rover playing songs."
At other times, the rover was spotted crowded in with a group of chicks, acting as a "spy in the huddle," Le Maho said.
Using a rover is important since some shy animals change their behavior and taint the results of studies, Le Maho said. The rover allowed the penguins to remain calm so that the researchers could get the most accurate results.
Le Maho used a rover without any disguise to spy on king penguins and elephant seals since those animals don't flee strangers.
Researchers want to use more autonomous robots to spy on emperor penguins in the future. The idea is to use the devices on the rover to read signals from radio tags on the birds.
The study was published Sunday by the journal Nature Methods.
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