Emperor Penguin

Monday, June 25, 2012

Emperor Penguin

We usually watch nature documentaries on TV about wild animals and their natural environments. These shows commonly show us how these animals act in the wild and what they have to do in order to survive. One animal that has fascinated many people is the emperor penguin. There have been many nature documentaries made about the lives of these flightless birds and one of the most notable is the March of the Penguins, narrated by Morgan Freeman. The documentary was co-produced by the National Geographic Society and Bonne Pioche. Luc Jacquet co-wrote and directed the movie, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary feature in 2005.

The nature documentary shows how emperor penguins journey through the Antarctic every year, leaving the ocean and walking across vast expanses of ice and snow to their breeding grounds. Here the penguins go through courtship and if successful, the propagation of their species. It also shows the journey penguins make between their breeding grounds and the ocean to hunt and find food for their chicks to survive.

Emperor penguins are known for their size and color. The tallest amongst the penguin species, they have orange beaks and yellow markings around their heads. As chicks, they hatch with gray feathers that change to black and white as they grow. These penguins are known to use vocal calls to identify their partners and chicks amongst the millions of penguins in a colony. Their diet is mainly composed of cephalopods, fish and crustaceans found in the waters of the Antarctica. These penguins are masters when it comes to adapting to cold and harsh environments. They are also very social creatures, living in colonies and rarely travelling or hunting alone.

Emperor Penguin Pictures