The emperor
penguin is about 100 cm (39") tall, weighs up to 50 kg (110 lb), and lives up to 20 years. It lives in the pack-ice
belt around the continent of Antarctica. The emperor
penguin is the largest variety of penguin. It is related to the king penguin. Emperor penguins start breeding at 3-6 years of age. They do not brood in the summer, but rather in the cold of winter. Sometimes they travel hundreds of kilometers to the mainland, since they cannot brood on ice that melts in summer. Mating season starts at the beginning of April; in May or June the penguins start to brood. The single white egg weighs about 450 g (1 lb). The females leave the
brooding colony after giving the egg to their partner; then they put on fat and collect the first food for the young. The males lose a third of their weight during brooding. They huddle together so as not to freeze, and constantly shift positions so those on the outside do not get less heat. In mid-July, the small chicks hatch, but remain in the warm brood pouch. The chicks open their eyes a few hours after hatching. The male, despite his loss of weight, must still produce a milk-like substance for the chicks'' first meal. A few days later, the females return with about 3 kg (7 lb) of predigested fish from the sea. This regurgitated fish is the chicks'' first solid food. It is now the male''s turn to replenish his store of fat. At 5 weeks of age, the chicks start to gather in a sort of nursery. After about 6 months, the chicks leave the colony and will only return to their birthplace when they themselves brood.