	ZEGRAHM & ECO EXPEDITIONS — Giving You The World 1-800-628-8747 or 206-285-4000

>Home >Travel Destinations >Library Articles >A Year in the Life of an Emperor Penguin

Z-Mail

A Year in the Life of an Emperor Penguin

by Zegrahm Expeditions, January 1997

Related Links

An in-depth look at the life cycle of this majestic creature.

January 1997
Emperor Penguins are the largest of the world's 17 species of penguins - they stand nearly four feet tall and, in pre-breeding condition, can weigh 70-90 pounds. There are only 42 known colonies with a world population estimated at just under 200,000 breeding pairs.

January/March
Emperor penguins are at sea during the late austral summer, fattening up on a diet of 95% fish, 3% squid and 2% krill.

March/April
From late March through late April, they begin to walk "inland" across the frozen sea. It can take them over a week to walk the 60-100 miles to the traditional colony site. Average distance per day is about 15 miles, most of which is done by tobogganing. Due to the narrow window of opportunity, pair fidelity is generally lower than in other penguin species. Low pair fidelity may also be linked to the unequal sex ratio with females often outnumbering the males by a ratio of 60% to 40%. In some colonies, pair fidelity may be as high as 15%, but can be as low as 5%.

May/June
It will take 5-8 weeks to walk across the ice, select a mate, and for the female to lay the single, one-pound egg. The female usually incubates the egg for several hours before transferring the egg to her partner. Twelve hours later, the female begins her journey of about 60-100 miles over the ice to the open sea. By this time, the female will have lost 20-25% of her weight.

Late May/August
The male emperor incubates the egg in temperatures as low as -70 F. On average, he loses seven ounces of fat a day during the 64-day incubation period. In July and August, the first chicks appear. Despite the fact that the male has not eaten for up to four months, he is able to feed the chick with a crop secretion. The females normally return within a few days of the chicks hatching.

August/September
The male returns to the sea and replenishes his fat reserves while the female guards and feeds the chick for some 3-4 weeks. After a month, the male returns and takes over chick-duty from the female.

October/November
The chicks remain on the feet of the adults for nearly six weeks. After that, they are left unguarded. To ward off freezing temperatures, the chicks form creches by huddling together. Meanwhile, the two adults spend their time going back and forth from the sea to the colony.

August/late December
The emperor chick takes about five months, from the time of hatching, to fledge. During this period, it is fed on average every 16 days and will receive about 30% of its own body weight with each meal. During its 20-22 week feeding period, it thus receives only about 14-15 meals. Using satellites, some adults have been tracked on their feeding journeys which can take them distances of over 900 miles. When feeding they are able to hold their breath for up to 18 minutes at a time and can reach depths of 2,070 feet. Emperor penguins are thus the world's deepest diving birds.

December/January
The chicks are deserted by the adults at about five months of age. They are about 45% of the adult's summertime weight and weigh just 22-33 pounds. The ice now carries them out to sea and they will not return to breed for five years. Meanwhile, the adults fatten up at sea and return to the ice to molt, a process that takes 3-4 weeks.

February/March
They now have just 3-4 weeks to fatten up before starting their long trek across the ice and once again beginning their remarkable breeding program.