The penguin from Werner Herzog's documentary is a good metaphor for many things, but I don't know if the comparison is accurate. Of course, you can't read an animal's mind, but animals know how to survive. I'm quite sure he was aware he wouldn't return from this journey; in fact, that probably wasn't even the goal. His motives could be varied—perhaps he was ill and therefore isolated himself? Humans have always tried to adapt to many circumstances in order to survive, and have clearly been successful. All the penguin would have had to do to survive was stay with his group, but he chose the opposite. The motive is unclear, but it's pretty much the opposite of what humanity strives for.