Incredible new footage has revealed the nail-biting moment hundreds of baby penguins jumped off a 50ft ice cliff in Antarctica. 

A National Geographic film crew was visiting Atka Bay on the Ekstrom Ice Shelf, when they spotted approximately 700 emperor penguin chicks gathering at the edge of a cliff. 

To their amazement, the chicks began to leap from the summit, before smashing into the icy ocean waters below. 

Thankfully, the chicks emerged from the stunt unscathed. 

'This spectacular, heart-stopping moment has been witnessed by scientists before, but this is the first time the rare behavior has been filmed for television,' National Geographic explained. 

Antarctica is home to 66 known Emperor penguin colonies, who usually breed and raise their chicks in the winter. 

Every January, when the chicks are around five months old, they undergo a process known as fledging. 

During this process, the chicks lose their baby feathers and leave their colony for the first time, travelling to the ocean to take their first swim. 

Surprisingly, this swimming lesson takes place without the supervision of any adult penguins. 

'This is when they are essentially learning how to swim,' said Sara Labrousse, a researcher at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.