Children from the Edinburgh Children's Hospital painted pebbles for penguins at Edinburgh Zoo. But why do penguins present pebbles during mating season?

From romantic gestures involving pebbles to elaborate underwater "crops," the animal kingdom is packed with bizarre rituals.

Every mating season, penguins carefully search for the perfect smooth stone. They offer it as a symbolic gift that strengthens pair bonds, helps build nests, and signals commitment in the wild.

Adorable photos show penguins collecting pebbles painted by children in hospital. The practice, known as pebbling, marks the start of the breeding season for Gentoo penguins. Penguins were seen ...

Three Adelie penguins approached a resting Emperor penguin on an icy Antarctic shoreline. Filmed on January 28, the moment shows the smaller birds quickly sprinting away once the larger penguin stood ...

An Adelie penguin photographed by Prof Bethan Davies. Adelie penguins are highly dependent on sea ice coverage and a healthy population of krill, both of which are placed at risk by the climate crisis ...

A short scene from the 2007 documentary Encounters at the End of the World has resurfaced online and taken on a life of its own. The footage shows a single Adélie penguin breaking away from its colony ...

What do Werner Herzog, Pete Hegseth, and one diaper-happy despot have in common? Penguin lore, apparently. The right has tried (with success) to coopt certain symbols for its own nefarious use, ...

A clip of a ‘Nihilistic Penguin’ walking away from his colony toward certain death in the distant mountains has gone viral—where did the footage come from, and what does the meme mean? A viral clip of ...