Emperor Penguin

By far the world’s largest penguin species, emperor penguins can grow up to 4 feet tall and weigh more than 80 pounds! It is the only Antarctic animal that breeds during the harsh winter, when hundreds or even thousands of penguins huddle together in colonies for warmth. Every year, pairs of emperor penguins dutifully raise a single chick. The penguin’s survival depends heavily on the abundance of food, such as krill, which is being hurt by disappearing sea ice and warmer surface temperatures in the Antarctic. Not only does a declining krill supply mean less food for chicks, but it also prevents parents from building up the energy they need for those long periods of incubating the egg without eating.

Scientific name: Aptenodytes forsteri
Region: Antarctic, Oceans