A Penguin's Year by Jo Z

The Largest Penguins on Earth

zuhuajuly — 2023-11-03 11:33:22 UTC

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. However, the weather gets colder in May, and ice covers large areas of ocean. Each group moves many kilometers from the water. There, each mother penguin lays just a single egg. Then all the hungry mothers walk back to the ocean to find food. The father penguins put their eggs on top of their feet. They cover the eggs with a special piece of skin called the brood pouch.

Sharing the Work

zuhuajuly — 2023-11-03 11:35:12 UTC

For two months, the father penguins protect the eggs and keep them warm. They do this through some of the coldest weather conditions on Earth. By July, it is winter in Antarctica. Most other animals leave for warmer places, but the father penguins stay.

New Life

zuhuajuly — 2023-11-03 11:37:19 UTC

By August, each mother penguin returns just in time to see her baby hatch. The chick is then moved to her brood pouch. This can be difficult. If the chick falls, it can freeze quickly. The penguin parents must be very careful. Once the chick has been moved, the father penguin can go back to the ocean to find food.

Growing Up

zuhuajuly — 2023-11-03 11:38:05 UTC

Over the next few months, penguin parents take turnsgoing to the ocean for food.

They each make the trip several times, bringing back food for the chick. The chick is always hungry and grows rapidly.

Into the Water

zuhuajuly — 2023-11-03 11:38:37 UTC

By December, winter is ending. The chick can now live on its own. Soon it enters the water for the first time. It will swim and eat until next April, and then return.

After a few more years, it, too, will start its own family.