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Chinstrap penguin
Chinstrap penguins are so easy to recognize as they have a clear black band on their neck line. This is the reason why they are called Chinstrap penguins in the first place. Among all other penguins chinstrap penguins are the most abundant penguins present in Antarctica.
These penguins gather around in the form of huge colonies where they breed. After spending the winters, chinstraps have to return to their breeding or nesting sites; they do this around the beginning of October and november.
These penguins do not prefer to breed on ice, and hence their nesting sites are usually on rocky places of South sandwich islands, Antarctic, and Shetland islands.
The major diet of the chinstrap penguins like other penguins is “Krill”. Though they are present in large numbers, their major predator is “Leopard seal”. Birds like giant petrels are also a threat on land to these penguin’s eggs. They use to steal penguin’s eggs, hence destroying their chicks.
Baby Emperor Penguin
Emperor penguins are the true art of nature. These penguins have to spend their whole life on the most chilling and cold continent, “The Antarctica”. Its icy land and its chilling water are the habitat to emperor and baby emperor penguins.
To live in such a challenging environment, these penguins have adapted themselves in incredible ways to beat the cold. Their whole life is about “Survival”, they reproduce their young ones, they bring them up, feed themselves and their babies with a diverse diet.
These penguins are capable of breeding in a chilling environment. After successful breeding, the female penguins only lay one egg, and then they take their own route. After that, the male carries the egg onto his legs in his pouch. This pouch is made up of stiff and warm feathers that are excellent to keep the egg warm and cozy.
After a span of two months, females return from the sea. During their voyage to sea they collect food for their young and store them in their bodies. The males then hand over the chicks to the females and they take their own route to the sea to feed themselves.
The baby emperor penguins grow into adult penguins, and during this time the parents leave them into a group of chicks. This group is termed as “Creches”. Nature has planned the breeding season and the hatching of their eggs in a very planned manner.
By December, the Antarctic water softens up. That means, there will be more water that will reach towards their nesting locations. In this time, the parents can leave their chicks into the water so that they can learn to find their own food.
Baby Emperor Penguin
Emperor penguins swim and dive at the surface of waters, and they do not need deep dives. However, they are excellent divers. The Emperor penguins live on the land of Antarctica where they tap-dance on the frigid ice. As these penguins are the most famous ones; therefore, we have compiled this article “Baby penguins”, because it is essential to learn about them.
The common name of these penguins is “Emperor penguins”, the scientific names of these penguins are “Aptenodytes forsteri”. All the penguins belong to the class Aves (birds). Baby Emperor Penguins are flightless, carnivores birds, when they are present in a group it is known as a “Colony”.
The average lifespan of baby Emperor penguins to become adults is fifteen or twenty years. Baby Emperor penguins are capable of growing almost forty-five inches and weigh about eighty-eight pounds.
Only baby Emperor penguins are capable of becoming the most prodigious penguins among all penguins.
Hatching of the baby emperor penguins:
The chicks present in the eggs first start to make a hole in the egg. Then, the chip through the egg until they are capable of coming out. This process can take almost three days.
The juveniles are born with “Down” plumage primarily dark brown or black in colour. Remember the baby emperor penguins, when in the down feathers they are not capable of resisting water. It means that the down plumage is not waterproof.
Chicks take almost one year to grow the adult plumage. In all species of penguins, the colourations of juveniles are opposite from the adults. Scientists believe that it is essential so that the adult penguins do not consider the minors as competitors.
The vivid markings on the chicks of the Emperor penguins also enable the parents to identify the juveniles more quickly in the white snow. As Emperor penguins do not build any sort of nests in which the baby can be present at any time. Therefore, the colouration helps them a lot.
Unless juveniles are not able to swim, they are totally dependent upon their parents. Both partners take the responsibility of feeding the babies one-by-one. Both parents feed their young-ones on the regurgitated food.
Parent penguins feed only their babies and not the others. How do they identify their baby emperor penguins? Each juvenile has a separate call from which the parent can quickly identify them.
Now, here is a fun fact, the female leaves the egg as soon she lays it, and the male penguin takes care of the egg. But what happens if the egg hatches before the mother returns?
In this case, even when the father penguin is fasting, he is able to produce a liquid similar to milk from his oesophagus. This curd-like material enables the males to survive and feed their chick for up to two months.
A Juvenile group in the form of “Creche”, Creche provides warmth to the baby emperor penguins. Creches at a time were taken as small nurseries which were driven by adults for protection and care of baby emperor penguins. However, the concept is wrong because the penguins only feed their own chicks. Read the complete article related to are penguins mammals ?
How Emperor penguins and baby Emperor penguins adapted to the Cold environment of Antarctica?
Emperor penguins with the time have evolved several changes not only to their morphology but, their habits in social behaviours as well.
It is essential to adapt so that they are capable of surviving in the harshest and cold environments of the world. The temperature in Antarctica can drop to as low as minus seventy-six Fahrenheit.
It is the prime reason why they are present in the colony form or in groups. They walk and live together to decrease the chills that are caused by extreme cold winds. Emperor penguins divide responsibilities, and they eventually take turns while performing each obligation.
When a penguin is warm enough, it gives space to the other penguin so that it can get warmth too. Emperor penguins spend their lives on rigid ice, and they are also famous for breeding in the most harsh climate, that is “winters”.
Female Emperor penguins lay one egg and then she leaves it behind to the male. The females then have to go on a long sea voyage that can be as long as two months. They do so to get to the open edge of the ocean, where they feed themselves with fish, krills and squids.
Emperor penguins and their babies are capable of deep diving among all penguins. They can dive to One thousand eight hundred and fifty feet, and can also hold their breath for twenty minutes.
Reproduction and parenting of baby Emperor penguins:
Males keep the eggs on their feet, but they do not sit on it. Males balance the eggs on their feet and save them from the cold ice. Males also carry the baby Emperor penguin’s eggs in their breeding pouch which has insulating feathers. During this baby-sitting male penguins fast and they do not consume anything at all.
After this, when the female penguins return after two months, they are full of food. The female penguins then feed the baby emperors penguins through the regurgitated food. After that, the food hunt responsibility is now on the male.
Female penguins take care of the juvenile baby Emperor penguins in their warm breeding pouches. If the chick is out of that breeding pouch, even for a minute, it can die.
In the month of December, the frigid ice of Antarctica starts to break up. It is just the right time for juveniles to practice swimming and for searching for food on their own.
Baby Emperor Penguin height
Weight, size and height of each penguin depend upon the species of the penguin. Different penguins of different species have varying heights.
However, as far as the baby Emperor penguin’s height is concerned, they are almost 315 grams. However, the adult Emperor penguins can weigh about twenty – two to thirty-seven kilograms.
Emperor penguins can grow up to one hundred and twenty centimetres, almost equal to the size of a six-year-old child. However, the weight of Emperor penguins varies according to breeding and moulting seasons.
10 baby Emperor penguin facts
Being the most popular among penguins, Emperor penguins grab everyone’s attention. Mainly, children and adults are similarly interested in them. Therefore, let us learn exciting facts about these beautiful creatures.
- Emperor penguins are the giant penguins and the most beautiful of all penguins. Adult Emperor penguins have their inner parts of white colour, while their heads, tails, and wings are black. Yellow-gold vivid coloured markings are also present on the sides of their heads and necks.
- Emperor penguins are the most prodigious penguins, and they can grow about the length of one hundred and fifteen centimetres. The height is almost equal to the six-year-old child.
- Baby Emperor Penguins, from being babies and then becoming adults, they spend their whole lives on the Antarctic. They face the harshest environments on the land where temperatures can drop to minus sixty-degree centigrades.
- To survive the lowest temperatures, the Emperor penguins and baby Emperor penguins have made several adaptations. Emperor penguins have several fat-layers beneath their bodies that insulate them from the cold. Emperor penguins bear very tapered flat feathers that provide them with warmth.
- April is the breeding season of the Emperor penguins, and therefore they gather together on the thick ice of Antarctica. As soon as the female lays the egg, she hands it over to the male.
- Female penguins gather food for two months and then return back. From then, the males take the feeding responsibility.
- As the juveniles grow, the parents leave them in a group called “Creche”.
- In the coming December, the ice of Antarctica starts to melt up, and the juveniles are ready to swim. Until now, juveniles are prepared to hunt and swim on their own.
- Without the breeding pouches of their parents, the baby Emperor penguins are not capable of surviving in the cold of Antarctica, and they can die just in a few minutes.
- Emperor penguins are excellent swimmers and deep divers. They are capable of remaining underwater for twenty-two minutes.
20 baby Emperor penguin name
If you are having a baby Emperor penguin as a pet, then despite, to keep care of them, it is also essential to give them a proper name. So, here are some examples, from which you can select the name for your baby Emperor penguin.
- Emily
- Petal
- Martha
- Peachy
- Glory
- Bobby
- Smiley
- Cassie
- Izzy
- Ozzie
- Toto
- Lula
- Taz
- Snoopy
- Jacob
- Polly
- Icey
- Happy
- Kiddy
- Pablo
- Zinger
- Powly
- Pennie
- Emmy
What do baby emperor penguins look like?
Baby penguins also called “chicks” come in different shapes, sizes, and colours depending upon the species of the penguins.
However, baby Emperor penguins look opposite as compared to what they look like when they are adults. Baby penguins are usually born with grey, brown, and white plumage also known as “Down”. As they grow up, the baby penguins discard their “down” and grow the adult plumage.
As they grow up, near December, the baby penguins are capable of swimming and fishing. The baby emperor penguins are capable of eating krill, which is readily and easily available under the ice. Penguins mainly eat fish, krill and squid.