The Strangest Fish in The World

 

Epic Penguins

What is the Emperor Penguin?

The emperor penguin is the tallest and heaviest species of penguin left on Earth, and is limited to Antarctica. Males and females are the same in cod and clothing, with an individual of 122 centimeters in height. Its weight ranges from 22 to 45 kilograms.

The emperor penguin is the only type of penguin that spawns during the Antarctic winter season, and its spawning areas are distributed around the coasts of Antarctica in huge colonies on the sea ice that surrounds the continent in winter. miles) until the mentioned breeding colonies reach. It is very rare to see these penguin’s north of the ice. Each pair produces an egg in May or June, early winter. Then the female goes to the sea in search of food and leaves the male to pat the egg on his feet under a fold of skin for about 60 days, during which temperatures drop to -60° C (-76° F). The body temperature of an adult bird is a matter of life for the chick in the egg, and for this reason the male cannot leave the egg for a single moment, nor can he eat. During his 110-day fast that begins during the courtship period, he loses 45% of his initial body weight, but he can survive and weather winter thunderstorms and violent snowstorms by joining the gathering of other sluggish males. The female returns when it is time to hatch and feeds the chick, and the male is released, to make a long journey across the ice in search of food in the open waters. Later, the chicks gather together in what is known as the “nursery house” and both parents are freed to focus on collecting food from the sea. The chicks begin their journey to the sea in the middle of summer before the ice covers it.

Empress penguins have streamlined bodies, like other types of penguins, and the purpose of this body shape is to reduce friction when swimming, and their wings are sturdy and flattened, similar to the flippers of mammals. Its tongue is a spiny tip to help it catch its prey, and those spines point backward to prevent the prey from escaping once it is caught. Males and females are identical in cod and coat. Adults have dark black dorsal feathers, covering their head, chin, throat, the hind parts of their wings, in addition to their tail. These black plumages are clearly delineated from the rest of the lighter coat. The belly and the lower part of the wings are white in color, gradually becoming pale yellow on the upper part of the chest, and two light yellow spots appear on the ears. The rostral upper jaw is up to 8 centimeters (3 inches) long and is dark black, while the lower jaw may be pink, orange, or lilac. Chicks of empress penguins are white on their ears, bellies and throats, and their beaks are black, and they are usually silver-gray fuzzy, and their heads are black while their faces are white giving them a disguised appearance. An all-white chick was observed in 2001, and was not considered albino because its eyes were not pink, a characteristic of albinos that lose color pigments in their genes. An emperor penguin chick weighs 315 grams (11 ounces) at hatching and molts for the first time in its life when it reaches about 50% of its parent's weight.

 

The emperor penguin's coat color begins to change from black to brown from November to February, i.e. during the Antarctic summer season, before the old feathers are shed and replaced with new ones in January and February (January and February). February). The replacement of feathers is a quick process for this type of penguin compared to other members of its family and even to the rest of the birds, as it only lasts about 34 days. Emperor penguin feathers sprout from their skin as soon as they reach a third of their full size and before the old feathers have fallen off, in order to prevent the bird from losing too much body heat. Then the new feathers push and drop the previous one, and then their full growth is complete.

In Antarctica, where the emperor penguins are home, a great saga unmatched at all takes place

After a female emperor penguin lays one egg, she passes it to the father, who carries her on his feet for two whole months, and during this period the mother goes to the sea to supply food, while male penguins depend entirely on the food stored inside her body

But how can penguins withstand the extremely low temperature of the water?!

The skin of the penguins is the densest among all birds, and it consists of multi-layered feathers and a thick layer of fat that prevents the penguins from freezing (such as the fur coat that you wear), in addition to the presence of minute pores that secrete an oily substance that acts as a natural insulator of water, and prevents the freezing of these feathers, which contributes to maintaining the temperature of the penguins. A constant body temperature of 38 degrees Celsius in the icy water

But on land, this thick skin cannot withstand severe ice storms

Penguins gather together in one mass, which leads to them retaining body heat for as long as possible

It's not random at all.

After the penguins in the middle of the formation get the necessary temperature, they move to the sides most vulnerable to blizzards, in order to make room for their traitors in the formation to get their share of heat

During this period, the males incubate the eggs by carrying them on their feet

But how can a male penguin keep its bare feet for such a long time, even though it is in direct contact with the ice?!

In addition to the thickness of the skin of the feet, the penguin can control The rate of blood flow to the feet by changing the diameter of the blood vessels, as the blood flow into the arteries decreases, which leads to the penguins maintaining a temperature in their feet one or two degrees higher than freezing, which reduces the chance of heat loss and avoids frostbite!!

Wait, There is more

The male penguin flips the egg between his feet in order to distribute the temperature of the eggs correctly until the time of hatching

In the end, the male loses about a third of his weight in this very exhausting process, and a day or two before the egg hatches, the female returns to receive the young, while the male goes directly to the ocean water to get his food.

The father would spend about three to four weeks feeding at sea, then return to his mate, and after returning the couple would take turns taking care of their young child, keeping him warm and feeding him krill, fish and squid until he was able to take care of himself.