Emperor penguin
Aptenodytes forsteri
- Size
- About 1.1m tall: the biggest penguin
- Look for it
- April to December
- Where
- Sea ice round the coast of Antarctica
A tall penguin with a black back, a white front and golden patches at the sides of its neck.
The emperor penguin that follows you
This page is the edge of Antarctica. Move your pointer across the ice and your animal will waddle, shuffle or soar after you. Choose a different animal at the bottom, and tap the notes to open them.
Antarctica right now checking the sky…
Try another sky
01 · WinterWinter breeders
Emperors are the only animals that breed through the Antarctic winter, in the dark, at minus 40 degrees.
02 · EggAn egg on his feet
The male balances the single egg on his feet under a flap of skin for two months, and does not eat at all.
03 · HuddleTaking turns
Thousands huddle together for warmth, shuffling so that each bird gets a turn in the middle.
04 · DiveDeep divers
An emperor can dive more than 500 metres down and hold its breath for over 20 minutes.
05 · WalkA long march
They may walk 100 kilometres across the ice between the sea and the colony.
06 · SlideTobogganing
When walking is slow, they drop onto their bellies and push along with their feet.
Meet them all
Who's who in the Antarctic
Adelie penguin
Pygoscelis adeliae
- Size
- About 70cm tall
- Look for it
- October to December, then January to March
- Where
- Rocky coasts all round Antarctica
A small, neat black and white penguin with a white ring round each eye.
Weddell seal
Leptonychotes weddellii
- Size
- About 3m long
- Look for it
- All year round
- Where
- Fast ice round the coast of Antarctica
A plump, grey seal with a small head and a blotchy, spotted coat.
Wandering albatross
Diomedea exulans
- Size
- Wingspan up to 3.5m: the longest of any bird
- Look for it
- All year round
- Where
- The Southern Ocean, nesting on remote islands
A huge white seabird with long, narrow, dark-tipped wings and a pale pink beak.
South polar skua
Stercorarius maccormicki
- Size
- Wingspan about 1.3m
- Look for it
- October to December, then January to March
- Where
- Coasts of Antarctica, nesting near penguin colonies
A heavy, brown seabird like a dark gull, with a white flash in each wing.
Southern elephant seal
Mirounga leonina
- Size
- Males up to 5m long and 3 tonnes or more
- Look for it
- September to December, then January to March
- Where
- Islands of the Southern Ocean and the edge of Antarctica
The biggest seal in the world. The male has a floppy nose like a short trunk.
Through the year
When to look for them
The green months are when each one is at its breeding place on the coast, where it can be seen. The animal following you is shown in red.
Emperor penguin
Adelie penguin
Weddell seal
Albatross
Skua
Elephant seal
Good to know
Six things about the Antarctic
A land, not an ocean
Unlike the Arctic, Antarctica is solid land: a continent bigger than Europe, under a sheet of ice.
The record cold
The lowest temperature ever measured on the ground was here: minus 89 degrees.
No polar bears
Polar bears live only in the Arctic and penguins only in the south, so they never meet.
A frozen desert
So little snow falls that Antarctica counts as a desert. The ice has built up over millions of years.
Nobody's country
No one lives here for good. Scientists visit, and a treaty keeps the continent for peace and science.
A sea full of food
The cold sea round the ice is packed with krill, which feed the penguins, seals and whales.
Photo gallery
Real photos of the animals on this page. Tap one to see it bigger.
Emperor penguin
Adelie penguin
Weddell seal
Wandering albatross
South polar skua
Southern elephant seal
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons and are used under free licences. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews. Open a photo to see who took it.
The coldest place on Earth
Antarctica is a continent buried under ice up to four kilometres thick. Nothing much lives inland. The life is all round the edge, where the ice meets a very rich sea.
Back to the top