Embarrassed mother penguin's desperate attempt to tidy up her chick's unruly feathers

By Daily Mail Reporter
PUBLISHED: 4 September 2012

His unconventional hairstyle could be that of a typical rebellious teenager.
And like any proud parent, his mother appears distinctly unamused by her son's unruly plumage.
Unfortunately, there is little either can do about the unkempt afro-style haircut this young penguin is sporting after he took longer to shed his baby feathers than the other youngsters in the colony.
But that didn't stop his mom trying to peck and pluck his 'hair' into a neater shape.

Unkempt: The mother penguin on the remote island of South Georgia appears to be making a desperate attempt to smarten up her offspring's unruly hair

Most of the other young penguins had already grown a set of adult feathers but this late developer needed a helping hand.
The little King Penguin - Aptenodytes Patagonicus in Latin - had already grown majestic black and white feathers on his wings and stomach.
But instead of a golden crest on his head, sat a tuft of downy brown fluff.
The picture was taken in South Georgia by Sjoerd van Berge Henegouwen, 45.
Sjoerd, 45, a criminal defence lawyer from Maastricht in The Netherlands said: 'I kind of got the feeling that the parent penguin was worried about the chick being so late in the season with its moulting process.

'The moulting process happens to the adult birds as well as the young penguins, they either get new feathers or exchange their down for feathers.
'For the adults this starts towards the end of the subantarctic summer, for the youngsters however this process starts earlier.
'The penguin in the photo is halfway done with moulting its down, but he is rather late already.
'Some of the younger penguins are long done with shedding of their down and turning into real adult King Penguins.'