The results showed that penguins don\u2019t follow the shortest path<\/a>. Instead, they adopt curved, S-shaped routes shaped by tidal flows. These winding paths help them conserve energy and find more food.<\/p>\n Penguins ride ocean currents to save energy<\/p>\n The researchers analyzed GPS and compass data combined with ocean current models. This revealed a clever strategy. <\/p>\n \u201cIn calm water, they headed straight for home, but when the currents<\/a> were stronger, they allowed themselves to drift sideways. This made their journey longer, but less tiring.\u201d<\/p>\n These paths aren\u2019t random. Penguins adjust their heading to balance effort and direction. The team developed travel vector models to track how birds moved with or against currents. <\/p>\n When needed, penguins angled their swims to work with water movement. This created more efficient ground movement, even if the direction wasn\u2019t perfectly straight.<\/p>\n Feeding while floating home<\/p>\n Along these ocean current-driven, drift-friendly paths, penguins often dove deep to hunt. Most kept diving for prey during nearly 80% of their return trip. <\/p>\n Dive depth and prey capture activity decreased as the penguins neared the colony<\/a>, showing a transition from feeding to focused homing.<\/p>\n \u201cThe penguins were observed diving and foraging for food during much of their return journey,\u201d said Professor Wilson from Swansea University<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cAs they got closer to the colony, they became more focused and swam more directly, often arriving within just 300 metres of their original departure point, an impressive level of accuracy after journeys of up to 75km.\u201d<\/p>\n These dives weren\u2019t random. Penguins often deviated from a straight path to hunt, showing opportunism in action. The strategy paid off. They traveled efficiently without needing to swim straight the whole time.<\/p>\n Penguins use a flexible ocean route\u00a0<\/p>\n The study tested whether penguins used either a simple straight-line strategy or a complex angle-correction approach. <\/p>\n \u201cActually, penguins do neither! Their approach is more flexible,\u201d said Professor Wilson. \u201cThey seem relaxed about being at sea, sometimes swimming with the current even if it doesn\u2019t take them directly to their nest. Occasionally, they shoot past the colony and down the coast.\u201d<\/p>\n Instead of fighting the flow, penguins accept some drift. The tides in San Mat\u00edas Gulf alternate directions every 12 hours. This helps balance out sideways drift across the full journey. By planning loosely around this cycle, penguins<\/a> avoid constantly battling currents.<\/p>\n How penguins sense ocean currents<\/p>\n Penguins likely don\u2019t see land for most of their return. So how do they know where they are?<\/p>\n \u201cPenguins seem able to determine when they are in a current and roughly how strong it is. They also appear to understand the tidal cycle, that water moves first in one direction and then reverses,\u201d said Professor Wilson. <\/p>\n \u201cIf they\u2019re carried too far by the incoming tide, they seem to know they\u2019ll be brought back by the outgoing tide later.\u201d<\/p>\n The study suggests that the penguins don\u2019t rely on seabed features or landmarks. Instead, they may use a mix of compass orientation, smell, and detection of flow against their body<\/a>. <\/p>\n Some penguins returned at night, meaning vision alone can\u2019t explain their precise homing.<\/p>\n Currents help more than they hurt<\/p>\n The team ran simulations where penguins always swam straight home. These \u201cna\u00efve\u201d agents, which ignored the effects of ocean currents, often missed their target by many kilometers. <\/p>\n Real penguins, with their flexible strategy, consistently returned within 300 meters of their starting point. This accuracy shows that adjustment, not stubborn straight-line effort, is key.<\/p>\n Swimming against ocean currents costs energy. Penguins avoid that by letting the ocean currents carry them when helpful and correcting only when needed. The study measured energy use using an \u201cease of transport\u201d score, like a fuel-efficiency rating.<\/p>\n Penguins\u2019 real-life paths scored better than the theoretical \u201coptimal\u201d path when overall energy use was considered. They sacrificed some directness for efficiency and still ended up close to home.<\/p>\n Other animals may use similar strategies<\/p>\n These findings reveal just how well Magellanic penguins manage complex conditions. Their strategies may also reflect how other marine animals, like turtles or seals, adapt to changing seas.<\/p>\n As ocean conditions shift with climate change, species that adjust their movement patterns, like these penguins, may have the best chance of thriving. <\/p>\n The penguins\u2019 flexible, energy-smart behavior could inspire new ways to understand marine navigation across species.<\/p>\n The study is published in the journal PLOS Biology<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014\u2013<\/p>\n Like what you read? Subscribe to our newsletter<\/a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.\u00a0<\/p>\n Check us out on EarthSnap<\/a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls<\/a> and Earth.com.<\/p>\n \u2014\u2013<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Magellanic penguins are expert navigators. A new study shows they don\u2019t just head straight home from foraging trips.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21678,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[64,63,128,338],"class_list":{"0":"post-21677","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21677"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21677\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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