If there ever existed an Animal that deserved the tagline of Amazing, it’s the Emperor Penguin, these incredible Birds have adapted to life in one of the harshest environments on Earth where they don’t just survive; they thrive.
There are between 17 and 19 confirmed species of Penguin depending on who you ask, of these, only six reside on the Antarctic continent and its surrounding islands, all other species reside in much more temperate and forgiving climates, the majority of collections you see in Zoos are from the temperate regions, so just remember they’re not boiling or uncomfortable!
What makes the Emperor Penguin stand out from the other six species of Penguin of Antarctica are that they are the only species that breed solely during the harsh Antarctic winter, where average temperatures hover around -20°C with incredible lows down to -50°C!
Just as other Penguin species have finished their breeding season and have began migrating north to escape the encroaching cold of winter, Emperor penguins head in the opposite direction, seemingly having no regard for comfort and ease of living, by April/May they have laid their eggs and their incredible journey towards Parenthood begins.
Unlike the majority of Birds that create nests in order to ensure that their eggs are incubated safely, Emperor penguins instead hold their eggs throughout the entirety of the incubation period, this task is given to the Male, who will hold the eggs and eventual chicks in a fold of skin just above their feet for a period of up to 120 days, during this period the Males will not have a single meal, and will rarely move more than a few feet per day, additionally they sleep for between 20-24 hours a day, the behaviour resembles a form of active hibernation.
The task of the Females is not quite as sedentary as the Males; in fact it’s safe to say that the Females drew the short end of this stick. Imagine that you could only shuffle along at around 1.5 Miles per hour, now imagine that you had to move at this pace for over 70 miles, without food, in the worlds coldest climate, doesn’t sound too enticing does it? Well that’s the yearly life of a Female Emperor penguin; once her eggs have been laid and immediately passed to the Male she begins her journey to the feeding grounds which can be as far as 70 Miles away, once she has reached the grounds she will feast until she is in peak condition and filled with the food her newborn chick will require in order to survive.
She makes the arduous journey back to the nesting grounds where she locates her Partner through voice, note I can’t even locate my other half in a room full of 30 people, let alone an open space of 5000 individuals, once found she will take responsibility for the chick and the Male will be allowed to venture to the feeding grounds, where he will eat for the first time in up to four months. So next time you complain and feel down about having to nip out to do the food shopping when it’s cold and dark outside, just remember, there’s a penguin out there walking over 140 Miles to make sure its family don’t go hungry.
1. Male Emperor penguins can be very territorial towards other Males, this aggression subsides during the breeding season, at which point the Males huddle together for up to four months, by huddling together they resemble a single organism that preserves heat and energy much more efficiently, without working together they could never survive without food for four months.
2. They are the largest species of Penguin in the world, reaching heights of up to 1.15m and weights exceeding 35Kg, double the size of next closest species, their offspring are also large which is the leading reason for the winter breeding season, were the chicks to be born in the summer, they would not be capable of sustaining their mass during the reduced feeding opportunities and harsh temperatures of the Antarctic winter, the Chicks are completely independent by the end of summer.
3. Emperor Penguins are the only species of Penguin that may never set foot on land during their entire lifecycle, the majority of colonies spend their whole lives out on the sea ice.
4. They head south for the breeding season so as to ensure that when the sea ice begins to melt in December/January their chicks will not be far from the feeding grounds, by migrating south they also ensure that the Males/Chicks will not be predated by coastal predators such as Leopard Seals.
5. They are incredible divers, an Emperor Penguins resting heart rate is not too dissimilar from an average human, at around 80-90BPM, prior to a dive they raise their heart rate to 200BPM, almost instantly they lower their heart rate back to resting upon starting the dive, before eventually lowering it to 20BPM for the majority of the dive, this method allows the Emperor penguin to dive to depths of 550 metres whilst holding a single breath for up to 22 minutes, upon surfacing they raise their rate back to 200BPM, this ability to control their heart rate gives them one of the most adaptable and complex circulatory systems in all of the Animal Kingdom.
6. They reach sexual maturity by the age of 4 and have an average lifespan of up to 20 years.
7. Their heat conservation is unparalleled in the Animal Kingdom, they achieve this through multiple processes, they can recycle up to 85% of heat from exhalation by recapturing it though their Nasal passages. They can also lower the temperature of their outer feathers to below air temperature, allowing them to extract small amounts of heat from the surrounding air!
You can see Penguin poo from outer space!
In 2009, Scientists used satellite images that picked up the giant red-brown stains on the sea ice that has allowed researches to locate every colony on the continent for the first time ever. It has identified 38 breeding colonies with an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 breeding pairs of emperor penguins.
If you enjoy the Amazing Animals series then check out The Giraffe
Check back tomorrow for my new feature of Stand In Saturday
