PENGUIN HATCHING BEHAVIOR
Incubating the eggs
In late May/early June, there is an exodus of penguins (mainly females) from the colony. Suddenly it
becomes rather quiet. The singing of the courtship period stops and only occasional calls are heard. The
females track across the fast-ice and head for the sea while the males stay behind to incubate the eggs.
During the winter storms they huddle closely together to keep warm. They haven’t eaten anything
except a little snow since they arrived at the colony nearly 2 months ago. The males cannot go out and
feed with the egg on their feet. It takes 65 to 75 days for the eggs to hatch – by the time the chicks
appear, their fathers have fasted for 4 months! The males rely entirely on the body fat that they laid
down during summer to survive the long winter fast.
Hatching
When the females finally return to the colony in July the males have lost nearly half their body mass and
look quite skinny. The females, who having been out hunting all this time, are big and beautiful. Males
and females recognise each other by their calls and it is remarkable how quickly a female can locate her
mate among thousands of penguins when she comes home. She has to work quite hard to convince her
mate to let her have the egg back or hand over the tiny chick. He has been looking after the egg all
winter and although very hungry he is most reluctant to let it go.
The chicks are very small when they hatch weighing only about 150 g to 200 g (adult penguins weigh 22
kg to 30 kg at this time of year). They only have a very thin layer of down and are not yet able to regulate
their own body temperature. It takes about 50 days to develop that ability. Until then it is up to the
parents to keep the chicks warm. Since they are still very small they fit comfortably in the brood pouch.
Raising the chicks
During the chick rearing period there is a lot of activity in the colony – parents coming and going, chicks
looking for anybody willing to feed them – there is a lot of walking around and calling. Both parents take
turns brooding their offspring until the youngsters are able to stand on the ice by themselves. By
September, the chicks have grown a thick cover of down and are developing quite rapidly. Growing
requires a lot of energy so they are always hungry. It now takes both parents to go out and gather food
for the youngsters. When the little ones are left at the colony they form huddles, especially at night, to
keep warm.
In early December the chicks are nearly as big as their parents. Suddenly little black patches appear on
their flippers. The youngsters are beginning to grow real feathers and they start shedding their down. At
this time of year, the number of adults in the colony gets smaller and smaller. Parents that lost their
chick, adults that missed out on breeding and adults that are not ready to reproduce yet, tend to go out
to sea at this time to start fattening up for their annual moult.
