Family life of penguins

In April, the beginning of winter in the Antarctic, emperor penguins travel from the pack ice out at sea to the colony site for courtship and breeding. The trip is estimated to be hundreds of kilometers, and researchers are unsure how the penguins find their way.

By early June, the female lays an egg. The female penguin transfers the egg to the male, which will incubate the egg for 60 to 65 days, while fasting. Females usually weigh about 65 pounds, while males are about 25 pounds heavier. Because the females are smaller, they can't fast as long as the males, so once the eggs are laid, the females must return to the sea to eat, he says. When the female returns, the chick hatches.