Emperor penguin

How it lives

The largest of the penguins and the only animal that breeds through the Antarctic winter. A female lays a single egg, and only the male incubates it, for about 65 to 75 days without eating. Both parents then take turns to feed the chick, which needs about 42 kg of food from each parent. In the cold, birds huddle together, with as many as 10 in every square metre, which cuts heat loss by as much as 50%. They usually feed at 150 to 250 m. Most dives last 3 to 6 minutes, and the longest recorded is 22 minutes.

Where it goes

Emperor penguins stay in the Antarctic and Southern Ocean. They breed on fast ice, which is sea ice attached to the coast, and travel out to open water to feed. Colonies are often a long way from the fishing grounds, so adults fill up before they return.

We only draw a journey on the map when scientists have tracked it or clearly documented it. For this animal we have not found one yet.

Populations

A 2009 satellite survey counted about 238,000 breeding pairs, roughly 595,000 adult birds, in 46 colonies. About 66 colonies were known by 2022. Colonies range from a few hundred to over 20,000 pairs. Satellite data show a loss of about 10% between 2009 and 2018, more than 20,000 adults. On 9 April 2026 the IUCN moved the species from Near Threatened to Endangered because of sea-ice loss, and its models show the population could halve by the 2080s without sharp cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. Early break-up of sea ice can make a breeding colony collapse into the sea before the chicks can swim.