A bird of Antarctic seas and ice. It cannot fly, but dives to catch fish, krill and squid.
The male keeps the single egg on his feet beneath a skin fold. After hatching, the parents share the care of their chick.
Emperor penguins crowd together in the cold. Within a dense huddle, small steps can pass through the group instead of each bird taking a large stride. Video analysis has examined how the birds move while remaining tightly packed on the Antarctic ice.
In late October–November 2005 at Cape Washington in the Ross Sea, ten chick-rearing emperor penguins with reliable data made foraging trips averaging 14.2 days. Between repeated dives, resting accounted for about 90% of the time recorded on sea ice.
During a four-hour observation near Neumayer Station on 3 August 2008, penguins in huddles made small 5–10 cm steps every 30–60 seconds. The steps spread as waves, and the tightly packed groups gradually moved.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
Breeding requires sea ice that supports incubation and chick rearing. Research examines how changing ice conditions affect this long breeding cycle.