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🐾 Emperor Penguins
The tallest penguins on Earth raise their babies in the coldest, darkest winter on the planet.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
📍 Where is it?
📍 Snow Hill Island, Antarctica — see it on the big map →
Emperor penguins are the biggest penguins in the world — about as tall as a six-year-old child. They live in Antarctica, the coldest place on Earth, where winter temperatures can drop to minus 40 degrees.
In the middle of that freezing, dark winter, something amazing happens. The mother penguin lays one single egg and passes it to the father. Then she walks away to the sea to find food. The father balances the egg on his feet, tucking it under a warm fold of skin, and does not eat for about two months.
Thousands of fathers huddle together in a giant crowd, shuffling around so everyone gets a turn in the warm middle. When the mothers return, the fluffy grey chicks hatch, and the parents take turns feeding them fish and tiny sea creatures called krill. The chicks huddle together too, in big fluffy groups called crèches, to stay warm while their parents are away fishing.
🤩 Wow fact!
Father emperor penguins can go without food for about two months while they keep their egg warm on their feet.
🧠 Quiz time!
Who keeps the emperor penguin egg warm while the mother is away?