Penguins, Above & Below

Norbert Wu

Freelance

Emperor and Adelie penguins appear at the ice edge each spring and work their way inland to rookeries. Emperor penguins endure the most extreme conditions known on earth. They return to their breeding colonies in March through early April, oftentimes walking 50-120 kilometers over sea ice to get there. As winter sets in March, the pair engages in courtship for a month. In early May the female lays her egg and leaves it with her mate for the rest of the winter. She faces a 60-mile walk over the sea ice to reach the open sea. Astoundingly, emperor penguin egg laying, incubation, and chick rearing takes place in the Antarctic winter. Males endure temperatures as low as -140F, and they huddle closely in large groups for warmth during the two months of egg incubation. The egg hatches after 64 days and the male feeds its offspring. A few weeks after the sun has reappeared over the horizon, the female returns. the male must walk as much as 100 miles back to sea after this ordeal. During their breeding fast, emperor penguin weight decreases by 35-40% in males and 20-35% in females; the males lose more weight since they incubate the egg. After egg hatching, both parents alternate chick brooding for its fifty day period; one goes off to feed while the other stays. Chicks then form large cr*ches until they depart from the colony in December through early January. When left alone while its parents are out feeding, the emperor penguin chick regularly calls for its parents who use that call to locate their chick. Emperor penguins on ice edge; Antarctica.

Norbert Wu, " Penguins, Above & Below ," in POYi Archive, Item #29358, http://archive.poy.org/items/show/29358 (accessed November 22, 2024).