A social media post of a penguin stopping traffic at Scott Base has gone viral - with more than 5.5 million views in two days.
Christchurch-based Antarctica New Zealand said international media had already been in touch about the "intriguing imagery".
Matthew Jordan, a project manager working on the Scott Base Redevelopment Project, captured the footage of an Adélie penguin wandering around heavy machinery on the ice.
As per the rules in Antarctica, all the machinery had to be stopped when the bird waddled on to the base.
The video shows a parked digger, with the penguin wandering up and "adorably hopping into the bucket for a look".
Jordan opened his TikTok account just last week. He wanted to show people what living and working in Antarctica is like. He uploaded the photos and video to free up some space on his phone - but had no idea it would be so popular.
“I’m amazed at how quickly this has taken off. The previous post showed what it was like to fly to Antarctica and views were rising by hundreds of thousands right before my eyes,” he said.
That post has now had more than 1 million views, but it’s the cute little Adélie stopping traffic that has really caught the attention of TikTok users.
International media companies have asked to commercialise the content. But Jordan says his motivation isn’t money.
"I’m more interested in getting the word out about Antarctica and the science we support," he said.
"If my posts can draw attention to the continent and work (Antarctica New Zealand) do, then I’ll be happy."
Jordan will continue adding videos to his TikTok account - @mattykjordan.
And he said content creation won’t be an issue - he’s travelling back to Scott Base in January to spend winter as the Scott Base redevelopment supervisor.
- The post can be found on TikTok @mattykjordan.
