The Emperor Penguin - Aptenodytes forsteri -
134 days for incubating male emperor penguins.
The Emperor Penguin
- Aptenodytes forsteri - is the tallest
and heaviest penguin and is endemic to Antarctica.
They breed in the coldest environment of any bird species. It has several unique
adaptations for the harsh cold conditions, deep dive pressure and low oxygen.
Description
The Emperor has a streamlined body and males and females are
similar in size and colouration. The adult has deep black dorsal feathers,
covering the head, chin, throat, back, dorsal part of the flippers, and tail.
The black plumage is sharply delineated from the light-coloured plumage
elsewhere. The underparts of the wings and belly are white, becoming pale
yellow in the upper breast, while the ear patches are bright yellow. The upper
mandible is black, and the lower mandible can be pink, orange or lilac. In
juveniles, the auricular patches, chin and throat are white, while its bill is
black. The Emperor Penguin chick is typically covered with silver-grey down and
has a black head and white mask.
Call
They use a complex set of calls that are critical to
individual recognition between parents, offspring, and mates. These penguins have
the widest variation in individual calls of all penguins.
Food
Diet consists mainly of fish, crustaceans and cephalopods. In
hunting, the species can remain submerged up to 18 minutes, diving to a
depth of 535 m
Breeding
The Emperor Penguin is able to breed at around three years
of age. The yearly reproductive cycle begins at the start of the Antarctic
winter, in March and April, when all mature Emperor Penguins travel to colonial
nesting areas. They start courtship in March or April, when the temperature can
be as low as −40 °C. The female lays a single greenish-white egg, which she
very carefully transfers to the male, before immediately returning to the sea
for two months to feed. The male incubates the egg in his brood pouch,
balancing it on the tops of his feet, for 64 consecutive days until hatching. Hatching
may take as long as two or three days, as the shell of the egg is thick. By the
time the egg hatches, the male will have fasted for around 115 days since
arriving at the colony. To survive the cold and winds of up to 200 km/h
(120 mph), the males huddle together, taking turns in the middle of the
huddle. In the four months of travel, courtship, and incubation, the male may
lose as much as 20 kg. The female penguin returns and takes over caring
for the chick, feeding it by regurgitating the food that she has stored in her
stomach. The male then leaves to take his turn at sea, spending around
24 days there before returning. Between 45 to 50 days after hatching, the
chicks form a creche, huddling together for warmth and protection. During this
time, both parents forage at sea and return periodically to feed their chicks.
Conservation Status – Least concern
The Emperor Penguin is listed as a species of "least
concern" by the IUCN. It is currently under consideration for inclusion
under the US Endangered Species Act. The primary reasons for this are declining
food availability due to the effects of climate change and industrial fisheries
on the crustacean and fish populations.
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