The Polarstern has been breaking a canal into the sea-ice for some days now to open a way for the Naja Arctica to the shelf ice edge near the Neumayer station. It is on the sea-ice in front of Neumayer where the colonies of Emperor penguins are. That we know, and every now and then whole groups of adult penguins pass by on the ice.

Well, we have seen grown-up penguins before, but I would have loved to see the young ones, especially since they are so close! We can not get to the colony, but the penguin chicks ae nice enough to come and visit us. And so I am standing on deck until 2 a.m., watching a group of young emperors on their first trip to the water. This sight is really the nicest I have ever had of any penguins.



As the Polarstern is running back and forth in its own channel while breaking the ice, we pass the chicks again and again. A group of 20 youngsters is on their way. They come across a smooth area of ice and then rest for an hour protected from the wind in a pressure ridge before they start again for the water around 12:30 a.m. I am thinking, I want to be a part of this. Most of their down feathers are already replaced by regular feathers, at least on their bellies, which they use to slide around.
By 1:30 a.m. they make it to a pool of open water. I am thinking, if I know anything about penguins, they will take their time before they dare take their first dive- after all,it is theri very first time! I allow for some more time, freezing and waiting. When, by 2 a.m., they unmistakably decide to take another nap at the edge of the water, I give up and go to bed.

Emperor penguins, Aptenodytes forsteri, are the largest of the penguins. They attain sizes up to 1.30 metres and weigh up to 41 kilograms. They can dive at least 250 m deep, and they can stay under water for 20 minutes. Each beat of their wings carries them about 2 to 5 metres forward. They lay their eggs in May, in the middle of the austral winter, and the chicks hatch in July and August. They need 5 months to become fledglings. They are abandoned by their parents before their first moult is completed, and they then start their journey across they breaking ice to the open water.
Emperor penguins are very easily distinguished from the similar King penguins. While the Kings carry their jackets with closed upper buttons, the Emperor wears his open. King penguins are not found here at about 70°S. They are living in sub-Antarctic latitudes, and their colonies are no further south than 60°S. The emperor, on the other hand, lives between 66 and 78°S. The chicks of the King penguin are chocolate coloured, whereas the chicks of the Emperor Penguin are silvery-grey with a distinctive white face bordered by black crown and neck-sides.



Gritta Veit-Köhler, Senckenberg
Photos: G. Veit-Köhler and Peter Kliem, Reederei Laeisz

Image 20080109_adult_Emperor_GVeitKoehler.jpg
colour pattern of an adult Emperor penguin
Location: 70°S, 8°W

Image 20080109_Emperor_chicks_GVeitKoehler.jpg
a group of emperor penguin chicks ready to go for their first swim
Location: 70°S, 8°W

Image 20080109_two_young_Emperors_PKliem.jpg
two young Emperor chicks waiting for theit first dive
Location: 70°S, 8°W