LYRICS
The chicks grow quickly on a diet of fish and squid.
Soon they're keen to explore,
but always with mother in tow.
This chick is less fortunate.
Its mother has not returned to claim it.
Another orphan is searching for a new family,
but this female already has a chick of her own.
Some orphans receive too much mothering from penguins whose own chicks have not survived.
The urge to parent is so strong
that they will compete with one another to adopt any chick they find.
Many of these squabbles end in tragedy
as the poor chick is trampled to death.
Those chicks that do have parents quickly learn survival skills.
Even in spring,
they must huddle together for warmth
just as their fathers did in the depths of winter.