These Emperor penguins aren't seen much around Casey, so when three of them just walked and tobogganed past us it was a treat. We also spotted them on an ice flow weeks latter. But you seem to always remember the first time for anything. Anyway, these big buggers are the biggest of all the 17 species of penguin. They grow up to between 1.0 and 1.3m in height and weight in around 20 - 41 kg. They eat mainly fish and crustaceans and cephalopods. You know crab and squid and octopus type thingies captured during pursuit diving. They can dive for 15 - 20 minutes at a time and to depths of 50m. They have been recorded to dive at depths of 250m also. Like the Adelie penguins they are very social characters and can be found in very large colonies of over 200000 pairs. They are monogamous, but usually do not renew their bond the following season. On a personal note, they are very regal and proud looking birds. They are probably not as inquisitive about human activities as the little Adelie, but that may well be my own lack of experience with them.
for more penguin pics of mine go to my facebook album
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