Emperor penguin- the tallest and largest of all living penguins. It is noticeable in the photo that the tall (over a meter in height) and portly emperor penguin is the most prominent representative of the Penguin family.
This penguin is endemic, found only in Antarctica.
The appearance of the emperor penguin is very impressive and bright: the rich black plumage of the back, head and wings contrasts sharply with the snow-white belly.
The back feathers have a noticeable gray-blue camouflage tint. In the emperor penguin, the soft yellow throat feathers fade into the bright yellow plumage of the parotid areas on the sides of the head. The largest individuals weigh about 40 kg. The female and male look the same, but differ in weight.
The living conditions of penguins are much harsher than those of any other birds. The low temperatures of Antarctica, its strong piercing winds, snow storms and icy sea waters create impossible conditions of existence. But not for penguins. TO extreme features They have adapted perfectly to their habitat.
The small size of the head and limbs, a thick layer of subcutaneous fat, and a feather cover made of very tightly adjacent hard short feathers reduce heat loss and promote waterproofing (the feather cover is water-repellent). The streamlined body and flipper-like wings make the penguin a natural swimmer and diver.
Emperor penguins are social animals. They live in large colonies - on Antarctic ice near shelters in the form of hummocks, rocks, cliffs and uneven ice. To keep warm, penguins gather in close groups, and the animals constantly change places: they move from the edges to the center and vice versa.
Emperor penguins form pairs in the depths of winter with gale force winds (200 km/h) and low temperatures (below 60 °C). But the chicks that are born will grow up and get stronger by the end of summer. Within 6 weeks of mating, the female emperor penguin lays an egg. Having transferred the egg to the male, the female goes in search of food and returns back after 2.5-3 months. The male warms the egg by holding it under his belly on his paws and covering it with a fold of skin.
During the brooding period, the penguin loses almost half of its body weight (about 40%). But he goes to the sea in search of food only after the female returns. The mother feeds the chick with semi-digested fish. Next, the parents take turns obtaining food to feed the chick. At the age of two months, grown-up babies begin to gather in flocks - nurseries. At some point ( summer period) adult penguins stop providing the young with food, and they move on to independent life.
To feed itself, the emperor penguin has to spend a lot of time in the water, diving up to 450 m deep and swimming into the open sea at a distance of up to 1000 km. Their diet consists mainly of fish, but also crustaceans such as krill, and cephalopods, such as squid.
Emperor penguin- the tallest and heaviest representative of his imperial family - the penguin family. Growth of the Emperor Penguin sometimes it reaches 1.20 m, and body weight up to 40 kg, and even more. Females are slightly smaller - up to 30 kg.
Its back and head are completely black, and its belly is white and yellow. Its natural color makes it almost invisible to predators when it hunts in water. Naturally it cannot fly, but it is a rather strong and muscular bird. Emperor penguin chicks completely covered with white fluff.
This representative of penguins was described back in the 19th century, research group under the leadership of Bellingshausen. Almost a century later, Scott's expedition also made a major contribution to its study.
The emperor penguin today numbers approximately 300 thousand individuals (for this is not that much), it is believed rare bird, and is among the protected species. Emperor penguin in the photo Quite a majestic bird, isn't it?
It hunts in the ocean, like any sea creature, feeding on fish and. Hunting occurs mainly in a group. The group aggressively breaks into the school, causes complete chaos in its ranks, and then grabs whatever they can get their hands on.
They are able to swallow small things right in the water, but with larger prey it is more difficult - they have to drag it to the shore, and then tear it apart and eat it.
While hunting, they are able to cover quite significant distances, reaching speeds of up to 6 km per hour. The emperor penguin is the diving champion among its relatives; the depth of its dive can reach 30 meters or more.
In addition, they can hold their breath for as long as fifteen minutes. During their swims, they rely more on vision, so the more light that penetrates through the water, the deeper they dive. They try to establish their colonies in dry places, away from the cold northern wind, hiding them behind stone cliffs and ice blocks.
It is important that there is open water nearby. Colonies can number in the thousands of individuals. By the way, they sometimes move quite interestingly - gliding across snow and ice on their bellies, with the help of their wings and paws.
Penguins often warm themselves in large groups, inside which it’s even hot, despite the extreme low temperatures environment. At the same time, they even alternate so that everything is fair - the inner ones move outward, and the outer ones warm up inward. Penguins spend the bulk of the year raising their young, and only a couple of months of the year, in total, they spend hunting.
Track the movements of penguins, and generally observe them from close range quite difficult, because these birds are very shy. When a person approaches, they can easily abandon the nest along with the clutch or chicks and take off.
Emperor Penguin Habitat
Exactly emperor penguin lives at most southern regions. Spending most of their time on the drifting northern ice floes, they still go to mate and lay eggs. mainland where it's warmer.
According to the latest information from satellite observations, there are at least 38 communities of emperor penguins in Antarctica.
Reproduction and lifespan
Their breeding season begins from May to June, during a not very favorable weather period of the year. At this time, the temperature can be -50ºС, and the wind speed is 200 km/h. Not a very smart approach, but acceptable for penguins. For this reason, their offspring grow extremely slowly and are susceptible to all sorts of climatic hazards.
Do emperor penguins build nests?? Of course, as without it. But from what? After all, as you know, no vegetation northern ice their inhabitants are not happy. Firstly, the penguin tries to find some secluded place, away from water and winds.
This could be a crevice in the rock or simply a depression in the ground under the cover of the rock. The bird equips its nest with stones, which, by the way, are also not too many, especially of a suitable transportable size.
Therefore, it is often Emperor penguins build nests from other people's stones, which cunning males secretly drag from a neighboring nest. By the way, this makes quite an impression on the females - so to speak, “All in the family.”
They rarely locate their colonies for raising offspring directly on the mainland, most often on coastal ice. It seems safer to raise children on a floating ice floe.
Here they are absolutely right - not every predator will risk getting to them by swimming in ice water. Perhaps the polar bears, which move equally on land and water, although they do not eat penguins because of the poor taste of the meat and because of the different habitats. But this is not such a common case. If, nevertheless, they settle on the shore, then this is the most protected and not windy place, as a rule, near the rocks.
They arrive on the mainland starting in March, where active mating games immediately begin, accompanied by frequent fights and restless screams. A colony gradually forms; it can range from 300 individuals to several thousand. But then the long-awaited calm comes, the pairs are formed, the penguins are distributed into small groups.
At the beginning of summer, females already begin to lay their first clutches. When, as a rule, one single egg appears, she commemorates this with a cry of victory. Most Over time, the egg warms up under a specific fold of skin on the female’s abdomen.
Its weight can be approximately 500 g. Hatching mainly falls on the male, who soon after laying the egg, replaces the female. After all, before this happens, she sits hungry for more than a month.
The egg hatches for at least 2 months, and sometimes more. Usually the appearance of offspring coincides with the return of females after a long, well-deserved hunt.
A recently hatched chick weighs three hundred grams, no more. If his mother did not make it in time for his appearance, then the male feeds him - gastric juice, or rather, it is produced not exactly by the stomach, but by a special gland.
This composition contains all micronutrients. While the chick is growing, the parents jealously protect it from all sorts of external threats, in particular, these are seabirds of prey.
It is fed as if for slaughter - in one sitting the chick can eat six kilograms of fish. It grows until next spring, and only after the young learn to swim do all the birds go back to the ice.
For others, it is practically inaccessible. As already mentioned, the chicks are threatened by petrels or skuas, and they often become their prey. This danger no longer threatens adults.
Despite the harsh conditions of the North, due to their comparative safety from predators, many of them live to the ripe old age of 25 years. In captivity they also feel quite comfortable and even give birth to offspring.
Penguins belong to the penguin family, class seabirds. This is the second bird in the world (after the chicken) that does not fly, but swims beautifully and dives masterfully. One of prominent representatives family is the emperor penguin.
It has a very respectable height - up to 122 cm and weighs 35-40 kg (although some males reach 45 kg). The Emperor Penguin is the largest of all 17 species of penguins. Thanks to their dense plumage, penguins feel quite comfortable in any frost and cold. Support optimal temperature The body is protected from suffering from cold by a thick layer of fat, which, in addition to its thermoregulatory function, acts as a kind of pantry, replenishing the bird’s energy balance.
The black and white color of the down plays an important role in warming the body. When the sun appears, black feathers actively absorb and accumulate heat sun rays. Nature has endowed these animals with unique survival mechanisms in harsh conditions. For example, they are adapted to walk on snow and ice, relying on their heels and tail. To keep warm during severe frosts, Emperor penguins gather in dense groups. Pressing against each other and constantly moving from the outer circle to its middle, they heat the air inside such a circle to +35 degrees, with an external temperature of -20 °C.
The main habitat of penguins is Antarctica. They live in colonies, which can consist of a very different number of birds. The largest colonies number up to 10 thousand penguins, small colonies unite about 300 individuals. The emperor penguin, of all other species, goes to the southern extremities, making its life on the ice floes. But to continue and hatch the eggs, they return to the mainland together. Based on observations and research, about 35-38 penguin colonies have been recorded.
What do they eat
Emperor penguins like excellent swimmers and divers obtain food for their food only in the water. The diet consists of fish, squid, and krill. Animals get food with common effort and, having united in groups, they unanimously attack a school of fish, attacking it with their beaks. They eat small fish while still in the water, but larger specimens are brought upstairs to be gutted.
Interesting Facts: In pursuit of prey, the emperor penguin can dive to a depth of 500 meters and reach speeds of up to 6 km/h, and remain under water for about 15 minutes.
Penguins spend about two months a year at sea, but then are forced to return to procreate.
Emperor penguins form nesting colonies that are located on coastal ice floes. The birds choose a place for the colony among cliffs or glaciers so that it is not blown by the winds, and there are polynyas and areas with open water nearby. Animals need such areas to quickly find food for their chicks.
Breeding offspring
The process of breeding chicks from the emperor penguin is very touching and noble. The female lays only one egg in May or June and uses her beak to move it onto her paws, covering it with a fold of skin on the ventral part of the body. The egg with the future baby weighs 450 grams and its dimensions are 12x9 cm. The parent couple greets the appearance of the egg with a loud exclamation. Within a few hours, the egg is carefully taken by the male, giving the female, finally, the opportunity to replenish her strength in the water after a long period of fasting.
At this time, caring males gather in dense groups and combine their efforts to preserve the lives of future chicks. They will now keep the egg warm until the baby is born. A rested and strengthened female, after three months, finds a spouse by voice and accepts an egg or a chick that has already appeared from him.
Interesting facts: the duration of incubation of an egg sometimes lasts up to 100 days, but usually a chick appears on days 62-66.
The hatched penguin weighs just over 300 grams. After five weeks, the grown-up babies are gathered together in a kind of “ kindergarten", where they are protected and guarded by adult emperor penguins. From large number For chicks gathered in one place, the parents unmistakably find theirs to feed them well and on time. In December - January, feeding of the chicks ends and after a month's molting, they, along with the adults, go to sea until spring. The emperor penguin doesn't have too many enemies, so natural conditions he lives up to 25 years.
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The penguin family includes eighteen species, but only two of them belong to the emperor penguin genus. These are the emperor penguin and the king penguin, which is inferior to the first in size. The genus emperor penguins is one of the oldest in its family, and it is with appearance Most of us associate the word “penguin” with its representatives. However, the black and white plumage of these birds with a yellow-orange neck is not characteristic of its relatives. Emperor penguins are also larger and heavier than other species; they do not build nests, and their eggs are incubated in a special fold of skin on their abdomen.
The male emperor penguin reaches a height of 130 cm, his average weight ranges from 35 to 40 kg, and the maximum can be close to 50 kg. Females reach a height of about 115 cm and a weight of up to 32 kg. Of all modern penguins, this species is the largest. The color of the emperor penguin's plumage is black on the back and white on the chest. These colors help the bird to remain invisible to predators in the water. The areas under the neck and on the cheeks of the emperor penguin are yellow-orange. Newborn chicks are covered with white or grayish down. white.
The emperor penguin's diet consists of fish, squid and krill. Birds hunt in the ocean in large groups. Such “organizations” of penguins swim directly into a school of fish and quickly attack their prey; they peck everything they see in front of them. Penguins eat small prey directly in the water, but larger ones are captured and brought to the surface, where they are later cut up and eaten. While hunting, emperor penguins can swim long distances, moving at a speed of 45-58 km/h and descending to a depth of 500 meters. Penguins can stay underwater for up to 15 minutes. When hunting, these birds rely primarily on their vision and therefore dive deeply only in good light.
Bird distribution
The main habitat of penguins is Antarctica. They live there in colonies of varying sizes. The largest penguin colonies number about 10 thousand individuals, while small ones can unite up to 300 birds. The emperor penguin often makes its life on ice floes and for this purpose it goes to the edge of the continent. But to hatch eggs and breed offspring, the birds unanimously return deep into Antarctica. The results of observations and research by scientists show that today there are about 38 penguin colonies. Emperor penguins locate their colonies in natural shelters: behind cliffs, large ice floes, but with obligatory access to areas of open water. Birds move lying on their bellies, while they work with their paws and wings. To keep warm, emperor penguins gather in dense groups, the temperature inside reaches +35 °C, while the ambient temperature is -20 °C. At the same time, the penguins continually move from the edge of the group to its center, and then back. Thus, all birds are in the same conditions. Emperor penguins spend approximately two months a year at sea; the rest of the time they live on the mainland and engage in procreation. The emperor penguin is a very cautious and shy bird. When approaching potential danger- a predator or a person - panic begins in the colony, and the birds can run away, even throwing eggs and chicks.
Common types of emperor penguin
In addition to the emperor penguin, the genus includes another species - the king penguin.
Externally, the bird is very similar to the emperor penguin, but it is smaller in size and brighter in color. The body length of the king penguin reaches 100 cm. In adult birds, the back is colored grey colour, the sides of the head are bluish-black, and there are large bright orange spots on the chest. The belly is white. The chicks have brown plumage. The king penguin is distributed on the islands of Tierra del Fuego, South Georgia, Prince Edward, the South Sandwich Islands, Crozet Islands, Heard, Kerguelen, and Macquarie Islands. The world population is more than 1 million pairs.
The only sign of sexual dimorphism in the genus of emperor penguins is the smaller size of the female compared to the male. The plumage of individuals of both sexes is the same in color.
Emperor penguins stay near the Antarctic coast for about 10 months. The first individuals appear in nesting areas at the end of the Antarctic summer (mid-March or mid-April). Here the birds create pairs; this process is accompanied by loud screams and fights between males. This is how a colony is gradually formed. Her maximum size– up to 10 thousand individuals, minimum about 300 birds.
Emperor penguins establish nesting colonies on coastal ice, less common on the continent. For this purpose, birds select places with the most favorable microclimate, which are protected from the winds that blow from the middle of the continent at this time of year. Such secluded corners become places on cliffs, glaciers or on uneven ice. But not far from the colony there should also be cracks, open polynyas, or areas of the sea that are not covered with ice. Penguins need this in order to find food and feed their chicks. During severe frosts, penguins gather in dense groups and help each other keep warm.
The breeding season of emperor penguins occurs in May-June, when in their habitat the air temperature drops below -50 °C and wind speeds reach 200 km/h. Such weather conditions Emperor penguin chicks develop slowly.
At the end of May or early June, the female emperor penguin lays one egg, rolls it onto her paws using her beak and covers it with a special fold of skin located on the underside of the abdomen, also called the “brood pouch.” The weight of an emperor penguin egg is up to 450 g, size is about 12 cm by 9 cm; average temperature about 31.4 °C.
A few weeks later, the male, who also has a brood pouch, begins to incubate the egg. The female, who manages to get hungry during the first period of incubation, goes to sea to hunt. When the weather worsens, males gather in dense groups, which consist of 10 birds per 1 m², this helps to protect the lives of future offspring. In each colony, 4 to 8% of non-breeding individuals remain.
The duration of incubation of an egg is on average from 62 to 66 days, occasionally it can reach 100 days. By this time, the females return from hunting and at the same time chicks begin to emerge from the eggs. When the egg appears, the male makes loud calls, and the female finds him by his voice. Now the males leave the chicks in the care of the females, while they themselves go hunting. During incubation, they lose up to 40% of their weight.
The average weight of a newborn chick is approximately 300 g. If the chick is born before the female returns from the sea, the father feeds it with “milk,” a special juice that is produced in the penguin’s stomach and esophagus. On this diet, the chick survives for several days.
Then the females feed the chicks for three weeks with semi-digested food, gruel from fish and krill, which they stock up on while traveling by sea and the same “milk”. At five weeks, emperor penguin chicks can no longer fit into their parents’ brood pouch and form so-called “kindergartens.” In such groups, they spend time huddled tightly together.
Adult penguins continue to protect the chicks from attacks by birds of prey - petrels and. Parents can distinguish their chick from others and bring food only to him. At this time, the chick eats about 6 kg of fish at a time. The feeding period lasts until December or even January (the height of the Antarctic summer). And by this time the chicks can already swim.
Then the molting period begins. For 30-35 days, young birds do not eat anything, sit motionless and lose a lot of weight. After this, both adults and young birds go to sea until the next spring.
- The species of emperor penguin was discovered during the Bellingshausen expedition (1819-1822).
- The scientific name of emperor penguins is translated from Greek as “wingless diver.”
- When hunting for prey, the emperor penguin can dive to a depth of 500 m; it reaches a speed of about 60 km/h, and stays under water for about 15 minutes.
- King penguins, whose nesting sites were located in places accessible to people, began to be killed by sailors in the 18th century. This extermination of penguins on individual islands continued until the beginning of the twentieth century, and by this time the number of such colonies had dropped to a critical level. Today, thanks to measures to protect these birds, their numbers in all habitats have been completely restored.
- Emperor penguins have little natural enemies, the life expectancy of these birds in nature reaches 25 years. The only predators that attack adult emperor penguins in or near the water are killer whales and leopard seals. Emperor penguin chicks on ice floes can become prey for skuas and giant petrels. It is the latter that represents for the chicks greatest danger– as a result of his attacks, about a third of the emperor penguin chicks die. But giant petrels are not dangerous for adult birds.
Total known 16 various types penguins living in modern world. Each species belongs to a larger group of closely related species, comprising 6 genera.
The Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes Forsteri) is the largest living penguin when stretched to full height, then the size reaches 1.1 meters in height, males are even taller, up to 1.3 meters. Average weight its 36.7 kg (males), 28.4 kg (females). This penguin differs from the smaller King penguins (it also belongs to the genus Aptenodytes) not only in its large stature, but also in its bib - a wide pale yellow stripe that stretches between the orange-yellow ear and the pale yellow top part breasts Juveniles resemble adults in appearance, but are smaller and have a white rather than black chin, and whitish feathers around the ear, which turn yellow as they mature.
The emperor penguin is a bird of extremes in almost everything. It nests during the coldest months, during the Antarctic winter from March to December. They carry eggs and newborn chicks on their paws to prevent them from coming into contact with ice. Nests are not built, which allows all birds of the colony to move around, and during strong wind and frost, huddled in a group, closer friend to a friend, provide some protection from the cold.
In the case of the emperor penguin, the male is solely responsible for the two-month incubation period of the egg, and this occurs in the most severe frost, in the middle of the Arctic winter, in almost continuous darkness. The female feeds at this time. If the female does not return by the time the young are born, then the male is still able to feed the chick for a short time - with “milk” that regurgitates from the esophagus.
Little is known about the post-breeding period of these penguins during migration. Adults are known to stay close to the ice around Antarctica for most of their lives. Even young people, who were equipped with satellite transmitters, did not clarify anything in this regard. However, the researchers found that the penguins migrated north to the polar front. The vagrants visited the South Shetland Islands, Tierra del Fuego, the Falkland Islands, the South Sandwich Islands, Kerguelen, Heard, and New Zealand.
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