The Northern Gannet, which can live up to 35 years, is the largest seabird in the North Atlantic. It spends the winter feeding at sea, then migrates during the summer months to the coast to breed. The birds then gather in very large numbers on islets and islands; A colony can thus have more than 20,000 nests.

Access to this content has been blocked in order to respect your choice of consent

By clicking on "I ACCEPT", you accept the deposit of cookies by external services and will thus have access to the content of our partners

I AGREE

And to better pay 20 Minutes, do not hesitate to accept all cookies, even for one day only, via our button "I accept for today" in the banner below.

More information on the Cookie Policy page.

An extraordinary diver

The Northern Gannet is an impressive hunter that spots its prey below the surface of the water before melting on them at 96 km/h from a height of 30 m. As it dives into the sea, its wings are placed perpendicular to its body, but just before touching the water, it folds them to adopt a perfectly hydrodynamic shape, which allows it to enter the sea without injury. Pockets of air and fat in his body help cushion the impact.

Once in the water, the Northern Gannet can flap its wings to a depth of 12 m. The fish can be swallowed even before the bird returns to the surface and takes flight again in search of new prey.

And the man?

Gary Hunt is a British diver naturalized French who has been crowned nine times best high-flying diver in the world, jumping from 27 m high. But even with this feat, the gannet wins the duel hands down!

Did you like this article? Find the magazine "Le Monde des Animaux" on newsstands and on monmag.fr (paper and digital versions, and subscriptions).

The World of Animals & Nature is a magazine dedicated to wild fauna and flora from all over the world. Through captivating stories and sublime photographs, the magazine offers a true visual safari in the heart of nature.

  • Animal Minutes
  • Animals
  • Leisure
  • Bird
  • Dive
  • Dive
  • Fish