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Emperor Photo Gallery

The largest of all penguin species with a length of up to 48 inches and their weight ranges from 48.5 pounds when hatching to 88.2 pounds when arriving at the colony. They have a black head, chin, and throat with broad yellow ear patches on the sides of the head. The underside of the wings and belly are white, becoming pale yellow in the upper breast. Circumpolar, they are largely restricted to cold waters of the Antarctic Zone within the limits of pack ice, between 66 degree and 77 degree south latitudes. Main breeding areas are: Cape Washington - 20,000 to 25,000 pairs, Victoria Land - 21,700 pairs, Halley Bay - 14,300 to 31,400 pairs, and Atka Bay - 16,000 pairs. The Ross Sea sector contains ~80,000 pairs, over half the total population of the Emperor penguin. They remain in Antarctica permanently, breeding on the sea ice in some of the coldest conditions on the planet. Recent (2004) satellite images from LIMA (Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica) have located 38 emperor penguin colonies. Of the 38 colonies, 10 are new, six have been repositioned and 6 colonies previously thought to exist were not found or disappeared. These six colonies were originally recorded north of 70 degree South, which suggests the emperor penguins maybe at risk from climate change. They eat fish and crustaceans, foraging up to 311 miles from their colonies. There are an estimated 200,000 pairs, and the population is stable. There is little human influence except in the Ross Sea sector where the breeding population has decreased in part due to human influence. There are no known subspecies. They do not build nests or defend a fixed territory, using their warm bodies to incubate and raise their chicks. They are social, and to stay warm themselves the adults rotate position in their compact huddle to make certain everyone gets a turn at being on the cold edge. They are the only Antarctic bird that breeds in the winter. They are the only penguin that has to deal with extreme cold. They have 100 feathers covering one square inch, the highest feather density of any bird species. Like other penguins the Emperor has a thick layers of insulating feathers which are designed to keep them warm in water. Heat loss in water is much greater than in air. In addition to this, the Emperor has the largest body mass of all penguins, which further reduces relative surface area and heat loss. They are also able to control blood flow to their extremities, reducing the amount of blood that gets cold. They are able to recapture 80% of heat escaping in their breath through a complex nasal passage heat exchange mechanism. They have the longest molting period of all penguins lasting an average of 34 days. Unlike other penguins they and the king penguin lay only one egg. Immediately after the egg is laid, the female leaves the nest for 2 months During the Antarctic winter, when the period of darkness may last more than 20 hours, the huddling male emperor penguins incubating eggs may spend most of a 24-hour period sleeping. Breeding success is around 60%. Emperor chicks may experience a 20% survival rate during the first year of life. Therefore 80% of the emperor population comprise adults 5 years and older. Great Southern Petrels are the main predators of chicks at some land colonies. The average life expectancy is 19.9 years. They can dive to a maximum of 1755 feet, remain maximally submerged for up to 22 minutes. Most dives are about 490 feet and the dives last 2 to 8 minutes. They swim under water at speeds from 6.7 mph to 8.9 mph, averaging 4 to 6 mph. Unlike other penguins they do not porpoise. The maximum walking speed is slow at 1.7 mph, they do not hop, but do toboggan, a more efficient way on moving on land.

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Emperor Photo Gallery 1

Emperor Photo Gallery 2

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