Page 151 - World of Animals - Book of Sharks & Ocean Predators

Penguins
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1. The emperor penguin breeds at -60°C
If there is one fact above all
EMPEROR PENGUIN others that pays testament to
Aptenodytes forsteri how amazing penguins are,
Class Aves
it’s that emperor penguins
breed at -60 degrees Celcius
(-76 degrees Fahrenheit), a
feat that would be simply
Territory Antarctica
Diet Carnivore unthinkable and impossible
Lifespan 15-20 years for any other species on
Adult weight Up to 40kg / Earth. This fl ightless bird,
88lbs
Conservation Status which is native to the coldest, Antarctica
driest and windiest continent
on Earth, Antarctica, braves
NEAR THREATENED an environment where, with
wind chill taken into account,
the temperature can plummet to insane levels of cold.
Don’t think that such cold conditions are experienced
only rarely by the emperor, as the average temperature in
Antarctica is consistently around -30 degrees Celcius (-22
degrees Fahrenheit), while the coldest temperature ever
recorded in the emperor’s natural habitat stands at -89.2
degrees Celcius (-128.6 degrees Fahrenheit).
What makes this feat even more astounding, however,
is that emperor penguins spend the entirety of the long Emperor penguin range
winter months in Antarctica on the open ice, completely
exposed to the elements. The female of the species emperor will not have starved to death and the chick BELOW RIGHT A
penguin chick has
breeds directly into this cauldron of cold, before will have survived the extreme environment relatively
to survive harsh
leaving the tiny vulnerable young to be sheltered unscathed, but incredibly hungry. conditions in order to
by the male partner. They will then proceed on a Emperor penguins possess many amazing features survive into maturity
hunting trip that lasts two months and can see and abilities, many of which we’ll explore here.
them travelling over 80 kilometres (50 miles) away However, this ability to withstand the worst, most BELOW LEFT An
from their partners and young. The female will only brutal climate and environment the Earth can muster example of a penguin
huddle, where the
return once her belly is stocked to the gullet full of fi sh, for months on end, without food and with newborn birds gather together
squid and other marine creatures. If she’s lucky the male young to protect, is the most jaw-dropping of them all. to stay warm
Blizzard
Emperor penguins live in
Antarctica and, as such, have
to endure temperatures of
-60° C (-76°F) and frequent
bone-freezing blizzards.

Huddle
To survive and breed in
such harsh conditions,
emperor penguins huddle
together in groups, with
those directly in the wind
blast continuously rotated.

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