Emperor Penguin

Emperor Penguin Facts

The largest of all penguins is known as the Emperor Penguin.

The males and females are hard to distinguish as they are very similar is physical size.

Adult Emperor Penguins can weigh up to 85 pounds and be up to 48 inches tall. They back parts of the Emperor Penguins are black with a white front. They also feature bright splashes of yellow and orange on their breast region and their ears.

Emperor Penguin Habitat

The only place you will find the Emperor Penguin is in Antarctica. A great deal of research has been conducted to find out how they are able to survive in such harsh conditions. What we have found out is that they are able to manipulate their bodies in order to adapt to the environment. They can be completely functional at levels with low oxygen, they have solid bones, they can slow down their metabolism when necessary, and even shut down all non-essential bodily functions for a period of time.

Emperor Penguins form extremely large colonies and that can make it hard to keep track of each other. They use a variety of unique vocal sounds in order to contact each other. There is still plenty we don’t understand about such forms of communication but we do know they are very valuable among the Emperor Penguins.

Emperor Penguin, the warriors of nature are considered the most beautiful of all penguins. Image courtesy of NOAA.

Due to the large size of the Emperor Penguins, they consume more food than the other species. Their diet consists of all sizes of fish, krill, squid, and crustaceans.

Emperor Penguins can dive much further than any other penguin. They have been known to submerge themselves more than 1,700 feet when necessary to find food. They can remain under water for almost 20 minutes which is also longer than any other type of penguin.

Emperor Penguin Reproduction

The reproduction timing for the Emperor Penguin is different from any other species. They are the only ones that will do so during the peak of the winter in the Antarctic. They are known to migrate more than 70 miles to reach the breeding grounds. There they will find thousands of other penguins and the mating process will begin. They will find a mate and remain faithful to it for life. Even among such a large group of penguins they will call out until they find their mate.

Once the female has laid an egg, the male is left to care for it. The transfer process from the female to the male has to be very fast and accurate or the egg will be exposed to the bitter cold and destroyed. The female will leave the male and go looking for food. She will be gone for two full months.

During this period of time, the males will huddle together in an effort to keep themselves warm. They won’t eat at all during that period of time. Their overall objective is to keep those eggs safe and warm. They will be on the brink of exhaustion and even death by the time the offspring begin to hatch. The females generally return during the first week of life and then will then assume the caregiver role.

Emperor Penguin Conservation

In the wild, the average life span for an Emperor Penguin is 20 years. There aren’t any concerns at this time about its ability to survive. In fact, it is listed as the species of penguins least likely to end up endangered or extinct.