Incredible new footage has revealed the nail-biting moment hundreds of baby penguins jumped off a 50ft ice cliff in Antarctica. <br /><br />A National Geographic film crew was visiting Atka Bay on the Ekstrom Ice Shelf, when they spotted approximately 700 emperor penguin chicks gathering at the edge of a cliff. <br /><br />To their amazement, the chicks began to leap from the summit, before smashing into the icy ocean waters below. <br /><br />Thankfully, the chicks emerged from the stunt unscathed. <br /><br />'This spectacular, heart-stopping moment has been witnessed by scientists before, but this is the first time the rare behavior has been filmed for television,' National Geographic explained. <br /><br />Antarctica is home to 66 known Emperor penguin colonies, who usually breed and raise their chicks in the winter. <br /><br />Every January, when the chicks are around five months old, they undergo a process known as fledging. <br /><br />During this process, the chicks lose their baby feathers and leave their colony for the first time, travelling to the ocean to take their first swim. <br /><br />Surprisingly, this swimming lesson takes place without the supervision of any adult penguins. <br /><br />'This is when they are essentially learning how to swim,' said Sara Labrousse, a researcher at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. <br /><br />'That's not something that their parents teach them. <br /><br />'When they first go in the water, they are very awkward and unsure of themselves. They are not the fast and graceful swimmers their parents are.' <br /><br />
