It's not unusual for emperor penguin chicks to march toward the ocean at a young age, even when they're just 6 months old.

Adult birds jump out on to the sea-ice around March ... Between 2018 and 2022, roughly a third of the more than 60 known emperor penguin colonies were affected in some way by diminished sea ...

A large number of emperor penguin chicks were hit by the effects of climate change in 2023 as their icy homes were eroded despite the species’ endeavours to adjust to the shrinking landscape ...