Barnacle geese lay their eggs on cliff ledges to avoid predation by animals such as foxes. But once they’ve hatched, the goslings need to take the ultimate leap of faith – 400 feet down, in this case.
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The chicks must do this as soon as 24 hours after hatching, while their bones remain soft and less prone to breaking.
And in footage captured for the BBC’s Life Story, this gosling is just a few hours old.
If the goslings from this brood make it, they will be reunited with their parents in the search for food. But they need to make a quick getaway before any predators find them.
Watch the dramatic David Attenborough-narrated footage below.
Top image: a barnacle goose leads its chick to a cliff edge in preparation to jump, in Greenland. Credit: BBC Natural History via Getty
