A Penguin Family
Emperor penguins are the largest penguins on Earth. Each adult is over a meter tall, and can weigh up to 40 kilograms.
For many months each year, emperors live near the sea in large groups called colonies. However, in May, the weather gets colder and ice covers large areas of ocean. Each colony moves many kilometers from the water. There, each mother penguin lays just one egg. Then all the hungry mothers must walk back to the ocean to find food. The father penguins put their eggs on top of their feet, under a special piece of skin called the brood pouch.
Sharing the Work
For two months, the father penguins keep the eggs safe and warm. They do this through some of the coldest weather conditions on Earth. By July, it is winter in Antarctica. Most animals leave for warmer places, but the father penguin can lose almost half of his body weight.
New Life
By August, the babies begin to hatch! The mother penguin returns just in time to see her baby come out of its agg. The chick falls, it canfreeza quickly, so the penguin parents must be very careful. Once this is done, the father penguin can go back to the ocean to find food.
Growing Up
Over the next few months, penguin parents take turns going to the ocean for food. They each make the trip several times, bringing back food for the chick. The chick growa quickly and is always hungry.
Into the Water
By December, winter is ending. The chick is five months old and can live on its own. Soon it enters the water for the water for the first time. It will swim and eat until next Aprill, and then return here. After a few more years, it, too, will start its own family.