Winter breeders
Emperors are the only animals that breed through the Antarctic winter, in the dark, at minus 40 degrees.
Antarctic ice
Emperor penguin
Aptenodytes forsteri
A tall penguin with a black back, a white front and golden patches at the sides of its neck.
- Size
- About 1.1m tall: the biggest penguin
- Look for it
- April to December
- Where
- Sea ice round the coast of Antarctica
Waddles after you across the ice. Move your pointer and see.
When to look
Emperor penguin
Good to know
Six things about the emperor penguin
An 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.
Taking turns
Thousands huddle together for warmth, shuffling so that each bird gets a turn in the middle.
Deep divers
An emperor can dive more than 500 metres down and hold its breath for over 20 minutes.
A long march
They may walk 100 kilometres across the ice between the sea and the colony.
Tobogganing
When walking is slow, they drop onto their bellies and push along with their feet.
The real thing
Photos of the emperor penguin
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Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
How to spot one
Emperor colonies are very hard to reach: most people see them on film. Scientists count the colonies from space, by the stains they leave on the ice.
How to help
Emperors need solid sea ice that lasts until the chicks have grown. Action on climate change is the main thing that will help them.
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