EMPEROR PENGUIN

April 26, 2019

According to a study by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Halley Bay colony in the Weddell Sea (Antarctica) – the second largest Emperor penguin colony in the world – has suffered a “catastrophic” breeding failure after nearly all chicks born over three years died as their icy Antarctic habitat shrinks.

About:

Common Name: Emperor Penguin.
Scientific Name: Aptenodytes forsteri.
IUCN Status: Near threatened.
Distribution: They are endemic to Antarctica. They have a circumpolar distribution in the Antarctic almost exclusively between the 66° and 77° south latitudes.
Features:
- It is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species.
- Feathers of the head and back are black and sharply delineated from the white belly, pale-yellow breast and bright-yellow ear patches.
- Like all penguins it is flightless with wings stiffened and flattened into flippers for a marine habitat.
Breeding:
- They breed during the Antarctic winter. For breeding they trek 50–120 km over the ice to breeding colonies located at Cape Washington, Coulman Island in Victoria Land, Halley, Cape Colbeck, and Dibble Glacier.
- The female lays a single egg, which is incubated for just over two months by the male while the female returns to the sea to feed.