Top 10 amazing facts about emperor penguins the emperor penguin is a species of penguin that is only found on the continent of Antarctica. Its coloring is comparable to that of their close relative the king penguin despite the fact that they are considerably larger and heavier than other species of penguins emperor penguins are carnivores therefore their diet consists of fish squid and krill as a result of living in Antarctica a significant portion of the energy.
They get from feeding is used to construct a substantial layer of fat to keep themselves warm as is the case with other Penguins they are unable to fly due to their streamlined bodies and wings that function as flippers when swimming ice shelves are disintegrating and disappearing as a direct result of climate change and the warming of the planet.
Because this particular species of penguin spends a significant portion of its time on Ice throughout the year their habitats are fast disappearing which is a significant impact on the quality of their population .today we’re going to talk about all these things.
- They can be seen from space
- Co-parenting
- The love that cold weather
- Mostly found in Antarctica
- expert divers
- Emperor penguins are the largest of all penguins
- 600 thousand emperor penguins still exist
- The love to eat silverfish
- The will molt every single year
- Parents recognize their chicks by their calls
10 Facts About Emperor Penguins
Number one : They can be seen from space
Did you know emperor penguins can be seen from space it has been discovered and counted from space that there are colonies of emperor penguins. During a survey that took place in 2012 and was directed by experts from the UK satellite technology was utilized to detect Emperor colonies based on the poo stains that were left at the ice and breeding areas.
They found a number of colonies had never been explored before and numbered every individual penguin in its Colony it is currently believed that there are approximately 54 Emperor colonies located in Antarctica .satellite surveys have uncovered almost half of them but the vast majority of them have just not been discovered by humans how cool is that there are still so many things left on Earth to explore.
Number two :Co-parenting
Emperor penguin’s co-parent extremely well pairs of emperor penguins share parenting females lay One softball sized egg per month in May and June which they immediately give to their mates the ladies then quickly depart to the open ocean to gain weight before returning to feed their babies the eggs are delicately cradled on the top of the male Emperor’s feet and covered with a fold of skin known as .The Brood pouch to keep them warm the men starve themselves for two months while huddling together for warmth in the pitch black night dropping about half of their own body weight the females return in July and August with a tummy stuffed full of food which.
They regurgitate for the freshly hatched chicks the males then head to the ocean to feed until the little ones are mature enough to stay alone in groups called creches the parents continue to alternate between fishing and caring for their chicks the chicks can swim and survive on their own by December.
Number Three : The love that cold weather
Emperor penguins love that cold weather Emperors are specially designed to withstand these extreme conditions when the temperature can drop to a bone-chilling negative 50 degrees Celsius and gusts can reach 200 kilometers per hour to reduce heat loss .
They have two layers of feathers a large fat reserve and proportionally smaller beaks and flippers than other penguins in order to prevent their ankles from becoming too cold Emperors also have feathers on their legs their feet which have sharp claws for gripping the ice and unique lipids that keep them from freezing are also adapted to the frigid circumstances but what is most amazing is how groups of adults and chicks cooperate to cuddle together for warmth each gets a turn.
But not for too long on The Frigid outside of the Huddle where there are 5 000 or more closely packed adults and chicks contrast that with their terrestrial and argumentative neighbors the adeli englands.
Number Four : Mostly found in Antarctica
They are mostly found in Antarctica only in Antarctica can one find a wild population of emperor penguins they do most of their reproducing and rearing of young on what is referred to as fast .Ice which is a floating platform of frozen ocean that is connected to either land or the ice shelves they spend their whole lives on and near the ice of Antarctica where they are born and raised however stray individuals have been found off the coast of New Zealand on extremely rare occasions .
Number Five : expert divers
Emperor penguins are expert divers these penguins are as a matter of fact the birds that are capable of diving the greatest steps that are known to man they are able to descend as far as 1850 feet below the water surface and can remain underwater for more than 20 minutes at a time the record for the longest dive ever recorded was over 28 minutes long and they’re able to shut down organs that are not important to their survival in order to continue functioning in environments with low levels of oxygen
Just because their hemoglobin has been properly modified they also have solid bones as opposed to bones that are air packed which enables them to tolerate enormous pressures that are up to 40 times the surface of the bone .
Number six : Emperor penguins are the largest of all penguins
This wingless bird can grow to be as long as four feet which is roughly equivalent to the height of a child of six years old and as heavy as about a hundred pounds being large is an advantage for keeping warm as larger bodies are better at retaining heat than smaller ones however as compared to their now extinct ancestors emperor penguins are relatively small birds. We know that at least one species of the Antarctic penguin that existed approximately 40 million years ago was at least six and a half feet tall and might have weighed up to 253 pounds .
Number seven : 600 thousand emperor penguins still exist
Around 600 thousand emperor penguins still exist in Antarctica there are about 595 000 adult emperor penguins but there is still a lot we don’t know about this gorgeous polar species because of simple lack of Investigation the more we learn the better we can protect them which is why financing research in the Antarctic is so crucial in addition to helping protect the species from climate change.
This will promote the creation of marine protected areas although the emperor penguin’s population was predicted to be around 600 000 in 2009 global warming is a significant worry in the past prolonged warm seasons have caused a 50 reduction in bird population in some colonies according to a 2009 Woods.
Hole Oceanic institution study that employed mathematical modeling to forecast emperor penguin populations they may become extinct by the year 2100 as a result of climate change.
Number Eight : The love to eat silverfish
Emperor penguins love to eat silverfish Emperors eat Krill you know like will and Bill from Happy Feet the certain squid and other species in addition to the Antarctic silverfish on adult penguin consumes roughly two to three kilograms of food per day but on a good day.They may consume double that in order to increase their body fat reserves in preparation for The Long Winter or to feed their babies perhaps the only bird species that has never landed is the Emperor penguin sea ice is the only source of food to seek for fish squid and krill in the water they need openings in the ice additionally they require solid thick ice so that they can raise their chicks on it .
Number Nine : The will molt every single year
Emperor penguins will molt every single year each year usually after the breeding season emperor penguins molt and lose their feathers Penguins going through this process may appear ill as patches of their feathers Fall Away the mole AIDS in replacing feathers that may no longer perform as well due to wear and tear well that brings me to .
Number 10 : Parents recognize their chicks by their calls
Which is that parents recognize their chicks by their calls the call that each individual penguin makes can be easily distinguished from those of its peers adults are able to recognize their young by sounds.
They make and they will only feed those young that belong to them at least three different call types have been identified by scientists the first known as contact vocalization is used to identify other colony members the second known as threat vocalization is used to protect .
One’s territory and alert other penguins of the presence of a predator and the third known as individual recognition vocalization is used to communicate sexual territorial or individual information the most challenging call is that last one the vocalizations used by those in the large colonies to summon their spouses or their children are called those contact vocalizations males and females have different vocalizations probably as a result of the former’s propensity to play dominant it rolled during courtship males typically start by calling the female and then they use that vocalization.
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As a cue to locate the source of the sound females find lower pitched vocalizations more alluring since they may originate from larger penguins that brings us to the end of our article we hope you love seeing these interesting things about the super cool emperor penguins so I’ll see you next time.
Summary
Discover fascinating facts about emperor penguins, their unique adaptations, lifestyle, and the challenges they face in Antarctica.
