Once upon a time, because that is how all good stories should start, a penguin that was

about to be born. The egg was comfortably handled in between a tight ditch that prevented water

to come in below the belly of Gus. It was the last egg Gus had due to the demonic scavenger

skuas attacking the nest. The spring wind blew heavily onto his back. Out came the bill and one

webbed foot followed followed. The shell began to get deeper, bigger cracks; after some

minutes, it was cracked all around until he laid on his white belly flat on a rock. Gus decided to

name his youngling Henka. It was his mothers turn to care for him but she had left to hunt in a

group. The pack soon returned to the colony but his mother was nowhere to be found. Gus had to

provide food for Henka for 9 months and then left without a warning to be with another penguin.

The little adelie penguin was forced to be alone. This gave him a long time to think about himself

and his existence and how things could have turned out better. He was filled with envy and

blubber. Henka became depressed and began eating krill more heavily, building up more blubber.

He sat on his belly, only standing up to make the biggest but quickest hunt he would be able to

take. This penguin got under one conclusion; he did not want to be a penguin. He was at a loss of

identity. He was embarrassed to be a penguin. He saw multiple animals doing cooler things while

he was forced to stay on the ground and watch. He thought his evolutionary line only took step

backwards. Although Adelie penguins are known to be sociable, this penguin began to move

apart from everyone. He became easily irritated with everyone. He did not need the body heat

created from the groups because the blubber he had stored was already more than enough heat.

He became frustrated easily. He did not want anyone near his nest. He went against his nature

and took off since it is better to be alone than being lonely. He walked away from the rocky

location into a territory that was not familiar to him. The climate felt warmer around. The ice

began to feel less sturdy. Afar, the snow looked like it was moving closer. Maybe it was just a
moving glacier or a falling ice. Sight wasnt an issue for him because his binocular vision was

completely visible in and out of water. The curiosity moved Henka closer to get a better view. It

became much more cleared. Henka began to run the opposite way. His ancestors bones lost their

pneumatic characteristic, so he became heavier. What kind of animals stayed on the ground for

the rest on their lives when they could possibly fly? Even the wanna-be penguin, parrot bird

thing called puffin was able to fly. He ran with a waddle and his flippers pointing away from his

body. The polar bear ran to catch up to the penguin. The beast was 8 feet nose to tail and weighed

some 500 pounds. It ran at a speed of twenty-five miles per hour while Henka was still waddling

already tired of running that short distance. The polar bear was a hair away from taking Henka

when the ice breaks. Henka felt a lifting amount of relief knowing that his life was saved. He

realised that the polar bear had a back mark where many other mammals had whiskers, maybe it

was a vestigial trait He paused in order to catch up with his breath then there was a sound of a

crack. The ice beneath him broke as well. The Polar bear quickly smelt his presence. The polar

bear swam as fast as he could but Henka swam twice as fast. His bones that lost its cavities were

not to fly, they were developed to swim. Even his flippers allowed him to swim faster due to its

webbed form. Finally, there was a calming. But it was too calm. Henka remembered that

penguins developed a colony and hunted for food in packs because there is safety in numbers. So

he turned around swiftly to see if there was anyone. The waters were surprisingly emptied. He

turned around again in order to head back home. Then a leopard seal appeared with no signal.

The penguin began to swim again, but this time he used the water to his advantage. He began to

hop over the surface of the water 2 meters high at a time. Then back under the water he went,

maybe his size could be his advantage. He swam through cracks but every time he felt like he

was escaping, he was caught up with him in every turn. The flippers in the seal was given more
flexibility and power to swim. No wonder why his ancestors left the whole legs thing and just

gradually decreased the size of the pelvis. Henka continued going as fast as he possibly could.

But the waters became still once again. Henka could see the pinniped but it became distanced. It

looked surprisingly scared with its long teeth being revealed by a dropped jaw. There, behind

him, was a pack of orcas waiting from a small distance like wolves. The smallest one began to go

around followed by the rest of the pack in order to circle Henka. The ice began to melt faster

leaving scattered pieces of ice platforms. This was Henkas chance for an escape. The killer

whales would not be able to get him on a plat form. He shot up and remained lying belly down

thinking it would all be okay if he just waited everything out. He saw one whale stick its head

out to remain there a while and opened his mouth to reveal his carnivorous teeth . The rest of the

Pods were aligned on the other side of the floating ice. Henka was not sure what was going on.

They let out whistles and clicks as if they were all coordinating the whole process. One of them

pushed up against the ice as if to position it. Then the aligned ones dove under and arrived close

to the surface to make a powerful wave. The penguin quickly slipped but got back up on the ice.

Everything looked to be over. He kept on slipping and every time he would fall in deeper. But

suddenly a large ship came breaking what was left of the ice. The orcas hearing became

distorted by the giant sounds being created by the ship. The killer whales remained in place while

the ship arrived closer until it hit the whales. They began to sink and they were never seen again.

The journey taught Henka one thing. He was himself for a reason. There is no other animal he

would rather be than himself. He survived the biggest predators even before birth. His species

survived this far because of their adaptation to their environment. Henka was just too blind to see

it. He went back to his colony where he lived happily ever after.
 Citation

"Adelie Penguins, Adelie Penguin Pictures, Adelie Penguin Facts - National Geographic."

National Geographic. Web. 26 May 2016.

"Antarctic Weather." Antarctic Weather. Web. 26 May 2016.

Clapham, Phil. Whales. Grantown-on-Spey: Colin Baxter Photography, 1997. Print. "Leopard

Seals, Leopard Seal Pictures, Leopard Seal Facts - National Geographic." National Geographic.

Web. 27 May 2016.

"Polar Bears, Polar Bear Pictures, Polar Bear Facts - National Geographic." National

Geographic. Web. 27 May 2016.

Schreiber, Anne. Penguins. New York: Scholastic, 2010. Print.

"Orca (Killer Whale)." WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation. Web. 27 May 2016.