Who can resist a fluffy baby bird? Adult Emperor penguins are no exception, inspiring researchers to design a chick-like spycam to get close to the notoriously shy animals (see photo above).
Researchers studying the health of the majestic birds in Adélie Land, Antarctica had found that approaching them would make the birds' heart rate skyrocket and prompt them to scatter.
So Yvon Le Maho of the University of Strasbourg in France and colleagues developed the disguised rover to improve their bedside manner. The device is so convincing that the penguins' heart rate and behaviour reflected much lower stress levels. Sometimes the birds even serenaded the impostor with trumpet-like calls.
"They were very disappointed when there was no answer," Le Maho told the Associated Press. "Next time we will have a rover playing songs."
Future versions of the spycam might carry out additional detective work: they will have more sensors and the ability to read penguins' radio ID tags.
Journal reference: Nature Methods, DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.3173
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