Description
& Characteristics:
The
regal Emperor penguin is the largest of all the penguins.
They are also one of the most biologically interesting. Concentrated
in the Weddell Sea and Dronning Maud Land, Enderby, Princess
Elizabeth Lands, and the Ross Sea, Emperors remain in Antarctica
permanently, breeding on the sea ice in some of the coldest
conditions on Earth. They do not build nests or defend a fixed
territory, using their warm bodies instead to incubate and
raise their young. This unique breeding behavior--Emperors
are the only Antarctic bird that breeds in winter--may have
developed to allow chicks to grow to independence at a time
when food is most plentiful and predators are few.
Emperor Penguins have a big head, a short, thick neck, a streamlined
shape, a short, wedge-shaped tail, and tiny, flipper-like
wings. The sexes are alike, with blue-grey upperparts and
blackish-blue heads adorned with large white and yellow ear
patches. Their underparts are mostly white but with the upper
breast showing a pale yellow. The only penguin remotely similar
in size and appearance is the King
penguin which is smaller and more brightly marked. Like
all penguins, Emperors have shiny, waterproof feathers that
help keep their skin dry and
webbed feet which they use for swimming.
Unlike
most penguins, which feed on surface krill, Emperor penguins
live on fish, squid, and crustaceans caught on long, deep
pursuit dives. They will quite often reach depths of more
than 700 feet and remain submerged for up to 18 minutes.
Emperor
penguins establish loose breeding colonies on the pack ice
surrounding the Antarctic continent. In May, female Emperors
will lay a single egg after a 63-day gestation period, and
then will pass the egg over to her mate while she goes off
to sea to feed.
Male
Emperors will be unable to eat during the ensuing 9 week incubation
period. Instead, he must keep his egg warm by balancing it
on his feet, where it isinsulated by a thick roll of skin
and feathers called the 'brood pouch.' For added warmth and
protection against the bitter winds and sub-zero temperatures,
the males will huddle together in tight bunches. After the
eggs have hatched, young
chicks will remain in the 'brood pouch' for a short time until
they are able to regulate their own body temperatures.
By the time the female returns to take over feeding the chick,
the male will have lost up to a third of his body weight.
He must now make another long trek over the ice --up to 60
miles--to find food.
By
January, as the sea-ice begins to break out, the chicks have
lost most of their soft silvery-gray down, and are now able
to head
out independently for the open sea.
