Search results
Between four and nine feet a second
- When an emperor penguin swims through the water, it is slowed by the friction between its body and the water, keeping its maximum speed somewhere between four and nine feet a second. But in short bursts the penguin can double or even triple its speed by releasing air from its feathers in the form of tiny bubbles.
www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/emperor-penguins
People also ask
Do emperor penguins fast?
Do emperor penguins live on Ice?
How cold does an emperor penguin breed?
Do emperor penguins eat ice?
Can emperor penguins climb ice cliffs?
Can emperor penguins shoot through sea ice?
1. Ice, Ice, Baby. Wild Emperor penguins are only found in Antarctica. They breed and raise their young mostly on ‘fast ice’, a floating platform of frozen ocean which is connected to the land or to ice shelves.
- Overview
- Physical features
- Predators and prey
- Reproduction
- Conservation status
emperor penguin, (Aptenodytes forsteri), largest member of the penguin order (Sphenisciformes), which is known for its stately demeanor and black-and-white coloration. The species gathers together into approximately 50 colonies that settle on ice shelves and landfast ice along the coastline of Antarctica. Emperor penguins are capable of diving to d...
Adults are coloured black and white with areas of orange and yellow on the head, neck, and breast. Some members of this species may grow to approximately 130 cm (about 50 inches) long and weigh 25 to 45 kg (55 to 100 pounds). Juveniles are smaller, and their plumage is similar to that of the adults, with pale white to light gray feathers in place of those coloured orange and yellow. The downy feathers on the bodies of chicks are silver-gray. Although the feathers that surround the eyes are coloured white, those that cover the rest of the head are black. The emperor penguin closely resembles the king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus), a species of smaller stature that lives on several outlying Antarctic islands.
Britannica Quiz
Adept divers that can remain underwater for nearly 22 minutes, emperor penguins capture krill, fish, and squid that congregate under or near the edges of ice shelves. In addition, their endurance is such that some individuals have reached the South Shetland Islands, Tierra del Fuego, the Falkland Islands, the South Sandwich Islands, the Kerguelen I...
Emperor penguins breed in large colonies. Breeding occurs in late March and early April when males and females return from foraging in the sea. Some 15 percent of adults are capable of finding their mate from the previous year despite the absence of a nest and the tremendous size of the colony.
Breeding is apparently timed to ensure that the long developmental period will produce fully fledged young in midsummer, when their chances of survival are greatest. Consequently, a single egg is laid in late May or early June just before the onset of the Antarctic winter. Incubation is done exclusively by the male, and it is begun immediately after egg laying. In the meantime, the female embarks on a journey of some 80 to 160 km (50 to 100 miles) from the colony to the sea, and she does not return until the incubation period concludes. Incubation lasts 60–68 days through gale-force winds and extremely cold temperatures that routinely dip below –50 °C (–58 °F). With no access to food, the male lives off his fat reserves. He holds the egg on the tops of his feet, draping a layer of skin over the egg to protect it from the harsh conditions. During violent winter storms, members of the colony gather for mutual protection in tightly packed crowds called huddles.
The chicks hatch in August, and the females return to the colony to relieve the males. Each chick stands on the feet of one of its parents until it is strong enough to withstand the cold of the Antarctic ice on its own. The cold, however, is not the only threat to the newly hatched young. The number of “unemployed” adults in the colony increases with the addition of those who have lost eggs or chicks, and such birds have been known to interfere with parents that have young and cause increased chick mortality.
Students save 67%! Learn more about our special academic rate today.
Learn More
During the crèche stage, in which many young emperor penguins form groups for protection against the cold and predators, the fuzzy down covering is replaced by a coat of short stiff feathers, which are similar in composition to those of the adult but are usually somewhat different in colour. Once this molt is complete, the juvenile penguin leaves the colony to seek its own food at sea. Juveniles become fully fledged in December and January during their first year of life; they will return to the colony to breed starting in their fifth year. Emperor penguins may live 20 years in the wild and up to 50 years in captivity.
The emperor penguin is considered a near threatened species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Ecologists have recorded population declines in some emperor penguin colonies. The largest population decline (50 percent) was observed between 1950 and 2000 in a colony located in the Terre Adélie region in East Antarctica. Man...
- John P. Rafferty
- 15-20 years
- 100 cms (45 inches) tall
- Antarctica
- Emperor penguins are the largest of all penguins. On average, emperor penguins stand 45 inches tall, making them the largest living penguin in the world.
- They are expert divers. As a matter of fact, emperor penguins are the deepest diving bird known to man. They are capable of diving up to 1,850 feet below the surface and stay submerged for over 20 minutes.
- They live in massive groups. Emperor penguins live in groups called “colonies”. Each colony can be made up of 5,000 or more penguins at a time. The emperor penguin colony at Coulman Island is reputedly the largest known, with over 25,000 penguins!
- Emperor penguin colonies have been seen from space. Satellite technology has been used to identify and count emperor penguin colonies. There are thought to be around 54 individual colonies currently.
When an emperor penguin swims through the water, it is slowed by the friction between its body and the water, keeping its maximum speed somewhere between four and nine feet a second. But in...
The emperor penguin breeds in the coldest environment of any bird species; air temperatures may reach −40 °C (−40 °F), and wind speeds may reach 144 km/h (89 mph). Water temperature is a frigid −1.8 °C (28.8 °F), which is much lower than the emperor penguin's average body temperature of 39 °C (102 °F).
At sea, emperor penguins can dive to 1,850 feet—deeper than any other bird—and stay under for more than 20 minutes. Reproduction and Parenting
Over 60 emperor penguin colonies (sometimes called rookeries) have been recorded, generally within 50 miles (80 kilometers) of the coast. Emperor penguins establish colonies on solid plates of fast ice: sea ice attached to the land.
