Strike a p-p-p-ose! Baby penguin smiles for the camera before snapping at cameraman's legs

• Wildlife photographer captured the King Penguins on South George Island 
• The peckish baby birds swarmed at his feet and hungrily snipped at his legs
• The island, in the south Atlantic Ocean, is a breeding ground for penguins

By James Rush
PUBLISHED:  26 December 2012 

This baby penguin clearly wasn't camera shy as he posed for a picture before hungrily snapping his beak around the cameraman's legs.
The tiny King Penguin was among a gang of chirpy chicks which surrounded wildlife photographer Jon Cornforth as he set up his equipment.
The young birds were part of a huge colony based in Salisbury Plain, on South George Island, in the south Atlantic Ocean.

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Poser: A baby King Penguin looks down the lense as photographer Jon Cornforth captures this image

Picture perfect: The baby penguin flaps his little wings in front of the camera

Gathering: The young penguins surrounded the photographer as he tried to set up his camera

Mr Cornforth, from Seattle, in the US, had to quickly hot foot it out as the hungry penguins went for his legs, while he set up a GoPro camera on the edge of the colony.
He said: 'It was pretty comical to be able to go back and look through that footage.
'There were hundreds of thousands of penguins in that area.

'While I was being respectful and keeping my distance, I was still able to get these amazing opportunities for photographs.
'Once you land on the beach there you are struck by the noise and the smell.
'Your senses are just on overload from being in that kind of wildlife situation.'

Provider: An adult King Penguin keeps an eye over the colony on South Georgia Island

Grown-ups: The adult penguins had recently stopped feeding the youngsters, which was why they were so hungry when the photographer arrived with his camera

 

The area of Salisbury Plain is famous for being the breeding ground of up to 200,000 King Penguins.

Mr Cornforth said the area, which stretched over a mile in land from the coast, was home to a colony of anywhere between 2,000 to 5,000 penguins during his visit
He said: 'King penguins are the second largest penguins second only to the emperor penguins, which everyone is familiar with.
'King penguins are beautiful with that yellow-orange patch underneath their neck. They are just stunning to be able to photograph in person.'

Out for a walk: A group of King Penguins waddle through the snow in South Georgia Island

The baby penguins were around ten months old and had reached the time in their upbringing where their parents were weening them off being fed - causing them to become hungry.
Mr Cornforth, who spent two days observing the penguins, said: 'A lot of them were getting to the point where their mum and dads weren't going to be feeding them anymore so they were quite hungry and very curious.
'I'm six feet tall and the adult penguins came up to around my hip, with the babies being much, much smaller.'

Crowded: Mr Cornforth said there was anywhere between 2,000 and 5,000 penguins in the colony when he visited the island

Amazing close-up video of hungry baby penguins in the wild

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