Emperor Penguins

The emperor penguin’s breeding cycle marks it out as one of the toughest creatures on the planet.

A single egg is laid at the start of the ferocious Antarctic winter, and incubated in absolute darkness by the males, in temperatures that can drop as low as -76F (-60C). The penguins balance the egg on their feet under a brood pouch. In doing so, they lose nearly half their body mass as they wait patiently for the females to return from the sea in the spring.

Both sexes take it in turn to feed the chicks, who congregate in large creches. They fledge just in time for the sea ice to break up and for them to take to the sea.

The northernmost emperor penguin colony in the world, on Snow Hill Island in the Weddell Sea, is the only emperor colony that can be accessed by expedition cruise ship. There are about 4,000 pairs of emperor penguins resident at Snow Hill.

Trips here are restricted to a brief window in November or early December. The persistent sea ice that offers the emperors their home means that only ships equipped with helicopters can visit the colony, transferring visitors to the ice some distance from the colony, to complete the final stretch on foot.

While emperor penguins can’t be seen on expedition cruises to the Antarctic Peninsula, they can be seen when travelling to the Ross Sea, as cruises here sail much further south.

Emperors in the Ross Sea tend to be seen opportunistically, in small groups among the pack ice. Colonies in this region of Antarctica are too remote to be accessed by ship. 

Ross Sea cruises also offer the opportunity to see large numbers of Adelie penguins, the only other true Antarctic penguin alongside the emperor.

Two colonies of emperor penguins lie far from the reach of any expedition cruise ship, but can be visited from the Antarctic Interior. The colonies at Gould Bay and Akta Bay on the southern coast of the Weddell Sea are some of the most amazing wildlife locations in the world, with penguins against a backdrop of icebergs set firmly in the permanent sea ice.

While Akta Bay is normally visited on a day trip on a ski-plane, visitors to Gould Bay can spend several days there in an expedition-style field camp erected at a suitable distance from the colony to avoid disturbing the birds. 

Strict guidelines are in place that all visitors must follow avoid disturbing polar wildlife, including biosecurity rules to avoid the accidental transmission of pathogens. 

Emperor penguins have no natural fear of humans, allowing observation at close quarters. A minimum distance of 5 metres (15 feet) must always be maintained, or 10 metres (30 feet) from the edge of a colony; if a penguin approaches you out of curiosity, you should quietly and safely retreat. Wildlife always has the right of way.

When flying to the emperor colonies, all aircraft land at least one mile (1.6 km) from the colony to avoid disturbing the birds, and never directly overfly the colony itself.