The emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) is a southern aquatic bird representing the family Sphenicidae and the order Sphenisciphormes. The Sphenicidae family includes all extant penguin species, which are widely distributed in the southern hemisphere.
The species was described by Gray in 1844 and dedicated to the German naturalist Johann R. Forster, who actively participated in the voyages of Captain James Cook, extensively navigating the world in the discovery of the so-called “terra Australis incognita”.
Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) By Samuel Blanc
The genus refers to the impossibility of the species to fly and that it is capable of submerging itself in water. Emperor penguins have been a source of admiration and fascination since the first expeditions to Antarctica.
They are the birds that are distributed and live further south, in ecosystems practically unaltered by human activities. However, due to the increasing influence of global climate change, the survival of the species may be compromised in the coming decades.
Behavior
During the incubation process, the males make extraordinary efforts to ensure the survival of the chicks. These penguins depend exclusively on the energy reserves obtained before the start of the reproductive period, which indicates that a male can go more than a trimester without eating.
To conserve energy reserves during the cold nights of the Antarctic winter, the males tend to group in circles with their backs to the wind, to conserve heat. This behavior is rotary so that everyone passes through the center of the cluster and the edge exposed to the middle.
When some females fail to mate, they usually adopt young that were left without their parents, that were lost in the colony or due to theft. In most cases, they abandon them after two weeks, as they are not able to meet the requirements of the young on their own.
Adopted offspring tend to be in varied stages of development, generally during the first two months of life.
References
- BirdLife International 2018. Aptenodytes forsteri. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T22697752A132600320. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22697752A132600320.en. Downloaded on 31 October 2019.
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- Stonehouse, B. (1953). The Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri, Gray): I. Breeding behavior and development (Vol. 6). HMSO.