Emperor Penguin

Emperor penguins are the biggest penguins on Earth and the only animals that raise babies through the brutal Antarctic winter. Dads balance the egg on their feet for two freezing months while thousands of penguins huddle together for warmth.

Emperor penguins live on the sea ice and in the freezing seas around Antarctica, at the bottom of the world. They are the largest penguins — up to 4 feet tall and 90 lb — with a thick layer of fat, tightly packed waterproof feathers and a rounded body that holds in heat. Penguins are birds, but their wings have become stiff flippers: they cannot fly in the air, but underwater they fly better than any other bird, and on the ice they drop onto their bellies and toboggan across the snow.

Emperor penguins eat fish, squid and krill, and they catch them on dives that go deeper than any other bird's — over 1,600 feet down — holding their breath for around 20 minutes. Their eyes see well in the dim water and their beaks have backward-pointing spines that stop slippery fish escaping. Penguins often hunt together, and they leap out of the water onto the ice in one bound to get away from leopard seals waiting at the edge.

Emperor penguins breed in the middle of the Antarctic winter. The mother lays a single egg and walks back to the sea to feed, while the father balances the egg on his feet under a fold of warm skin for about two months, eating nothing, as thousands of males huddle together against winds and temperatures below −60°F, taking turns in the warm middle. When the chick hatches, the mother returns with a belly full of food and the parents take turns from then on. Emperor penguins are listed as near threatened, because the sea ice they breed on is changing.

Here is every emperor penguin fact from this page and the emperor penguin quiz in one list — handy for a school project or a car-ride quiz.

1. Penguin dads keep the egg warm on top of their feet for about 2 months — without eating.
2. Emperor penguins survive temperatures below −60°F by huddling and taking turns in the warm middle.
3. They're the deepest-diving birds, plunging over 1,600 feet.
4. Penguins can't fly in air, but they "fly" underwater with their flippers.
5. They slide on their bellies across the ice — it's called tobogganing.
6. Working together as a group keeps the whole huddle alive.

❓ Common questions about emperor penguins

No — emperor penguins are wild animals that belong in the wild, and keeping one would be unsafe and almost always illegal. But if emperor penguins are your favorite, here's the closest pet you actually can welcome home:

Meet the DuckBecause no pet is a penguin, but a pet duck gives you a waddling, water-loving bird you actually can care for. See care guide →

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