Be sure to reach the end of this article to see the full video!

Life on the ice can be incredibly tough. Luckily, these emperor penguins got a helping hand when they needed it most.

It all began when some emperor penguin chicks were marching through the snow. A giant petrel bird landed in front of them, threatening the poor babies.

The chicks tried to flee. But they struggled to stay upright, and many of them started falling down as they rushed. The petrel saw this and swooped in, attempting to carry one of the chicks away.

First, the petrel tried to grab the chick’s foot. Then it bit down onto its neck feathers. Luckily, the chick was able to get out of the bird’s grasp.

But the petrel still wanted to get one of the chicks, so it stalked them some more.

All of the chicks bunched together in a circle, trying to repel the bird with their beaks.

The petrel was momentarily stumped, thanks to the chicks’ defense. But it still stayed near, hoping to get a chance to attack again.

One of the chicks reared up and tried to scare the petrel off with its size. But this failed to intimidate the petrel.

Luckily, at that moment, an adult Adelie penguin ran up to the scared chicks, determined to save them.

Even though the chicks were of a different breed, the adult penguin still wanted to protect them. So he stood between the petrel and the babies, showing the petrel that it would have to get through him if it wanted the chicks.

The petrel paused to consider its options briefly and decided to fly away and pick on something else.

After this, the chicks were free to carry on their journey. The adult Adelie penguin decided to follow them until they reached the safety of their colony.

This amazing footage then appeared on YouTube, where it has since gone viral.

To date, it has gained over 12.7 million views. It also has more than 348,000 likes and 22,000 comments. People have been saying things like this:

We’ve all been in a situation where we could have done with a buddy like the Adelie penguin. What a brave animal!

Despite being the smallest species of penguin in the artic, Adelie penguins are among the fiercest. In fact, as well as petrels, an Adelie penguin will also attack seals and even humans.

The emperor penguin chicks in this video will have quite an advantage when they reach adulthood, however.

They are the largest of all the penguin breeds, reaching 45 inches in height. An emperor penguin is also able to dive deeper and hold their breaths for longer than any other bird. They can dive 1,850 feet underwater and can hold their breaths for 20 minutes.

Lots of people can learn a lesson from the penguins in this video.

We may have some superficial differences, but we all have a duty to look out for one another. The Adelie penguins defended those baby emperor penguins, even though they were a different species. If penguins know to do this, then surely humans can do the same?

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

Source: BBC, WWF, National Geographic