Some things find us before we find them.
Field Notes
Emperor penguin chicks spend much of their early lives in a communal nursery while their parents travel across the Antarctic sea in search of food. When the adults return, they don’t search visually through the crowd. Each parent calls, and each chick listens. Every family develops a unique vocal signature, allowing two individuals to find one another among thousands of nearly identical birds. Until then, the chicks simply remain with the nursery—sleeping, staying warm, exploring, and growing. They cannot know when the familiar call will come. Perhaps some parts of life aren’t meant to be chased, only lived until they arrive.