Where does the emperor penguin live on the mainland. How does a Japanese emperor live?

The emperor penguin is the largest of all penguins, weighing up to 45 kilograms and standing under 1.20 meters tall.

It has colorful feathers around its neck and head, while the head itself and the back of the body are black, and the abdominal part is white.

While the king penguin is a subantarctic species and is scattered across the continent, the emperor penguin is a resident of the deep South. The view was discovered by the Bellingshausen expedition in 1819-1822.

Description, lifestyle and habits

In many ways emperor penguins they do not differ from their smaller counterparts, as well as others, they feed on fish, squid and krill, which they catch by diving, but behind them very deep, where no penguin of another species can dive. ?Like other penguins, they have the ability to jump out of the water. This is what they do when they are escaping predators.

It is the emperor penguin that has unique features that distinguish it not only from other penguins, but from all animals in general. And above all, it is an increased ability to store oxygen in the body and the ability to withstand high pressure under water. At rest, the number of heart beats per minute is 60-70. Before diving, it increases to 200 hits, and already under water, the number of hits drops to 20 hits, with a good supply of oxygen. After returning to land, the number increases again to 200 strokes in order to fully restore the body and breathe in plenty.

The body of the emperor penguin is covered with feathers resembling long scales. To keep warm, there is a very thick fat layer under the skin. The body of a penguin is very heavy. It does not have air sacs under the skin, as well as layers of air under the feather, besides, the bones of the penguin are quite heavy. Big weight facilitates the process of diving for prey. He gets his food only under water. Penguins are masters of diving, here they surpass almost all birds and are not inferior to dolphins and seals in their skills. Sometimes near the shore or at shallow depths there is a lot of food for the penguin, and then they have absolutely no need to dive deep. But if necessary, he can dive under water for several tens of meters and stay there for a couple of minutes.

Emperor penguins breed in the midst of the Antarctic winter and only on sea ​​ice. This cycle begins, usually at the end of April to May. Penguins lay their eggs where there is a possibility for a chicken to hide from the wind in the future, for example, between ice and icebergs, because. it can be blown away by the wind. Eggs are laid in May-June, weighing about 0.4 kg. Like all penguins, the male is responsible for the egg, who covers the future chicken with a special fold on his stomach to save desired temperature. Males sit pressed against each other in order to keep their warmth to the maximum, because the air temperature can reach -50 degrees Celsius. This is quite unusual, as adult males are very aggressive and territorial.

Hatching eggs is hard for penguins! During this exhausting blizzard period, the birds lose weight, due to the fact that they practically do not eat, because they do not hunt, the plumage becomes dirty, becomes dull and disheveled.

As a rule, parents help each other incubate the chicks, guarding the eggs in turn - one hunts, the other "works as a nanny". There are also selfish penguins who, having given an egg, go hunting and simply do not return until the chicks appear. In this case, the second parent, exhausted from hunger, may try to go hunting with the egg and lose it. This is a big grief. Sometimes in such cases, unfortunate birds try to steal an egg from a neighboring clutch.

On average, hatching occurs within 110 days. During this time, the penguin loses 40% of its body weight. For almost the entire period of incubation, they sleep in order to preserve their reserves, because if the egg is not left for a long time, it may die. The mother goes to sea and returns only in July, usually her return coincides with the hatching of the chick. After that, the male goes to the sea. There it restores lost energy and fat. The chicken is brought up in the most usual way. The parents take turns watching and feeding him until he is big enough to leave.

As soon as the chicks are hatched, pubescent with gray fluff, the life of the parents is getting better. As a rule, "nurseries" are organized - all the children are brought together, with them there is a "nanny" who is ready to protect and protect all the chicks, and the parents go hunting.

As soon as the chicks change their gray down to the "adult" outfit, they begin to learn to hunt with their parents. These fearless birds often seek human contact.

Watching the penguins, or rather, their swimming, one marvels at how fast they move, as if they are flying underwater. This is how flippers-wings help them move, the penguin makes a movement with them like a flap of a wing. The animal can move at speeds up to 40 kilometers per hour. Yes, such a fast creature! The emperor penguin can move at speeds up to 48 kilometers per hour.

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Kingdom: Animals

The emperor penguin (lat. Aptenodytes forsteri) is the largest of 18 species of the penguin family. The emperor penguin was discovered by the Bellingshausen expedition of 1819-1822.

The average body length of an adult animal is 120 cm, weight is from 27 to 41 kg. Outwardly, these birds look like they are wearing a tailcoat: their head is black with a bluish tint, their chest is white, their wings are black, their back is bluish-gray, and their beak is purple-pink at the base. On the cheeks there is a golden-yellow stripe going to the neck. There are no flight feathers on the wings, the span is 1.36 - 1.59 m. Small wings, unable to hold the bird's heavy body in the air, are excellent fins. When diving, the penguin rakes them like flippers and is able to move very quickly in the water.

When hunting, emperor penguins cover long distances, swimming speed is about 20-25 km / h, and depths up to 535 meters, but if the penguins are in a hurry, they can reach speeds of 40 km / h. If necessary, they can spend up to 15 minutes under water. The more light, the deeper they dive, since their main guide when hunting is sight, not hearing or echo sounder. On land, the speed of movement is 3-6 km.h.

Swimming under water differs from flying in the air in that the same energy is expended on raising the wing as on lowering, since water resistance is greater than air resistance, therefore penguin blades have a larger surface in comparison with other birds, on which muscles are attached, responsible for lifting the wing. The pectoral muscles are developed and sometimes make up to 30% of the body weight, which is several times greater than the muscles of the most powerful flying birds.

Over the years of evolution, these seabirds have perfectly adapted to life in extreme conditions. low temperatures. Wise nature provided them with several layers of warm, durable feathers that can withstand an icy wind blowing at a speed of more than 110 km / h, at a temperature of -50 degrees. Under the skin of the bird there is a layer of fat, its thickness can reach three centimeters, and this subcutaneous protection from the cold also prevents the penguin from freezing either in icy water or on land.

In order to avoid heat loss through the paws, penguins have a mechanism for heat exchange of the blood streams circulating in the paws. Arteries and veins are located close to each other, arterial blood entering the paws is cooled, venous blood, on the contrary, takes heat from the arterial blood before returning back to the body of the bird. Thus, the temperature of the paws is much lower than the temperature of the body, the tissues here are much less sensitive to cold and the risk of frostbite is minimal.

Another clear difference between penguins and other birds is bone density. All birds have tubular bones, which makes their skeleton lighter and allows them to fly or run fast, while in penguins they are similar to the bones of mammals (dolphins and seals) and do not contain internal cavities.

The emperor penguin is a bird unadapted to flight, but its “flight” from the water cannot but arouse admiration, which can reach 1.8 meters.

Almost all year round, emperor penguins are forced to withstand severe frosts, which are often intensified by northerly winds blowing at speeds up to 200 km / h. Then mutual assistance comes to the aid of the inhabitants of the colony - they gather dense, up to ten individuals per square meter, in groups and warm each other with their warmth.

The birds in this unimaginable crowd move in periodic waves, constantly changing the structure of the group, which allows birds from the outer row to eventually move inside the flock. Birds are "compacted" so closely that it is impossible to move separately. However, in a close group, they move in a very coordinated manner, maintaining mobility and "hermetic packaging". Every 30 to 60 seconds, all penguins take small steps that are transmitted like waves through the whole flock - over time, these small movements lead to a large-scale reorganization. In general, individual penguins do not change their position in relation to their neighbors, and they do not deliberately climb into or out of the aggregation.

According to their beliefs, penguins are monogamous, that is, pairs are created for almost a lifetime. If peacocks attract females with their beauty, and deer with tournament victories, then penguins rely on their voice in everything. The male begins to scream and waits for the female to respond to his unique “serenade”.

From now on, the male and the female stay together. "Flirting" penguins lasts a month. First, the penguin waddles after the "bride", and they dance for hours in one place, against each other, bowing their heads to the beat of their movements. Then the lovers arch their bodies, raise their heads to the sky and sing in turn. And the most interesting: before copulation, the penguin exchanges low bows with the penguin.

It takes 25 days before an egg is laid, the only one during the breeding season. Emperor penguin eggs are large: 12 cm long, 8-9 cm wide and about 500 g in weight. Their color is white. Egg laying is dated for May-beginning of June.

The male and female greet the appearance of the egg with loud, as observers say, "jubilant" cries. For some time, the female holds the egg on its paws, covering it with a special fold of skin on the underside of the belly. After a few hours, it is transferred to the male, while the female, having starved for 45-50 days, goes to feed at sea.

Daddy carefully holds the egg on his paws, covering the top with a fold of the abdomen, which is called a bag. Even in the most severe frosts, the temperature in the egg does not fall below 33.6 degrees. And so the father penguin stands, actually not moving for 9 weeks. During this time, he eats nothing but snow, so by the time his wife returns, he can lose up to 40% of his mass.

But this is not the most amazing! If the female suddenly, for some reason, does not keep up by the time the chick appears, the male finds the strength and means to feed the chick himself. Special glands begin to work, which process fat into a creamy mass. This is “bird's milk” and the male expresses it mouth-to-mouth to his chick!

In mid-July, the female returns. She recognizes her partner by voice and takes over from him the baton of hatching eggs. And he, having lost almost half his weight, goes to the sea to recuperate. It will replenish energy reserves and subcutaneous fat by hunting squid, fish and krill.

By this time, the chick is still covered with fluff and will be able to swim only after molting (about six months later). But he is already curious and begins to leave the female at the age of three or four weeks. Sometimes it ends badly. And the point here is not only in the "skua bandits" or giant petrels. The trouble is that penguins are extremely child-loving. Therefore, a bachelor or a female who has lost a chick is constantly ready to pull off and “adopt” a gaping baby.

As soon as the kid gapes, several hooligans attack him at once and try to capture him. When the parents discover the kidnapping, a real fight ensues between them and the kidnappers. Crimson blood stains appear on the blinding whiteness of the ice. The fate of the chicks depends on the outcome of these battles. If his parents save him, he will survive, despite serious wounds and spilled blood. If a bachelor forcibly adopts him, his fate is sealed, he will die. In a few days, the stepfather will get hungry, he will have to go in search of food, there is no one to replace him, he has no girlfriend, and then he will leave his stepson, dooming him to certain death.

The chicks are not similar in color to adults, they are grayish, with a white "face" and a black cap. The first and second downy outfits differ in the length of the pubescence. After 5-6 months, the 2nd downy outfit of the chicks is replaced by a feather one. At the same time, adult birds begin to molt, lasting more than a month. Birds spend this period standing motionless in secluded places, they do not eat anything, they lose a lot of weight. Since January, adult and young penguins go to sea.

The emperor penguin is under international protection and the penguin population is declining as fewer birds return to Antarctica every year.

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This is the largest building of the palace complex and the most important. It is here that the main throne of the emperor is located, which is very difficult to photograph. The fact is that the central door at the time of our visit was closed, and there was no direct visibility of the throne. In addition, the hall itself is dark, and even the flash did not help. Below you see the most best photo of all we have done.

Pay attention to the inscriptions around the throne. They were written by Emperor Kialon of the Qing Dynasty. The text translates as: “The way of heaven is deep and mysterious, and the way of mankind is difficult. Only if you create a clear and universal plan of action and follow it, you will be able to rule the country well.” From the moment of inscription, these words have been the motto of the reign of the emperors of China.

Many ceremonies were held in this building. All important state affairs were conducted here, meetings were held with ministers, generals and important officials. It was from here that the annual procession began to pray for the harvest.

Pay attention to the stairs and to the ornament, which is found in this place for the first time in the Forbidden City. All the most important stairs are decorated in this style.

This is not the longest staircase in the palace, there will be an even longer staircase, but you can already admire the magnificent work on stone here.

Of course, the photo on the right is not of the highest resolution, you can see better photos in. In our gallery there are photos from different angles and close-up photos.

Most often, dragons are found on the ornament, which differ from the image familiar to us. The dragon in China is more like a snake with wings than a lizard, as it is usually depicted in European culture.

Near the Hall of Supreme Harmony there are several statues of turtles and cranes and very beautiful vases-lamps. All these statues are symbols of supreme power in China. Most Good photo we publish turtles in the article itself, and you can see the rest of the photos in the gallery.

It was in the imperial palace that metric standards were kept. Each state needs a developed system for measuring weight and length, because without it the country's economy cannot function and trade cannot develop.

In order for the units of measurement to be the same for everyone, there must be standards. In all countries, only the supreme rulers had the exclusive right to keep and set standards.

In ancient and medieval China, the standards were kept in the palace of the emperor. They were sometimes taken out to make an exact copy, and already copies were used to control the trade.

In total, China had five basic units of measurement: Hu, Dou, Shen, He and Yue. Look at the photo on the left carefully, inside this design there are objects - they are the standards of all these units.

What exactly these units are and how to understand which one is where, we did not succeed. We only realized that all this was used mainly to measure the weight of the grain.

Measures, especially grains, were very important in China. This is evidenced by the fact that the standards are located directly in front of the main building and next to other symbols of imperial power.

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to see what exactly is inside there. Touching this exhibit is prohibited, especially trying to climb the column.

Very interesting exhibits on this square are cauldrons, which were made of bronze with a gold coating. These boilers had a fire function. There were many wooden elements in the buildings of the Forbidden City, and fires happened here very often. Cauldrons stood everywhere and they were constantly filled with water, so that in case of fire there was something to extinguish the fire.

We don't know why, but the Chinese love to touch and rub cauldrons, apparently making wishes. We think that the boilers perform a similar function as the noses of dogs in Moscow at the Ploshchad Revolyutsii metro station, even outwardly the scuffs are similar.

To go further, you will have to use one of the passages that are located to the right and left of the “Hall of Supreme Harmony”. After passing through this small gate, you will see a small building. It is called the “Hall of Central Harmony”. Photo below.

It was very difficult for us to take a photo of this path, since every Chinese considers it a national duty to take a picture against its background.

In front of the gate that leads to the inner palace, there are also lions, also made of bronze. They look rather unusual, not like all the lions we have seen in China. These lions are covered with gold, but, as you can see in the photo, the coating has already worn off in some places. They are the only "lop-eared", which is remarkable.

These lions guard the passage between the outer and inner palaces, this gate is called the “Gate of Heavenly Purity”. They lead to the "Palace of Heavenly Purity" - the personal chambers of the emperors. Below is one of the photos of the interior of the emperors' house, more photos can be found in our gallery.

You can’t get inside the Palace of Heavenly Purity, you can only look at the decoration through the glass. By the way, the glass is not very clean, it's a great success that we got good photos home interior decoration.

Penguins belong to the penguin family, class - seabirds. This is the second bird in the world (after the chicken) that does not fly, but swims beautifully and dives masterfully. One of the brightest representatives of the family is the emperor penguin.

It has a very solid growth - up to 122 cm and weighs 35-40 kg (although some males reach 45 kg). The Emperor Penguin is the largest of all 17 species of penguins. Thanks to their dense plumage, penguins feel quite comfortable in any frost and cold. Support optimal temperature the body and not suffer from the cold contributes to a thick layer of fat, which, in addition to the thermoregulatory function, acts as a kind of pantry, replenishing energy balance birds.

An important role for warming the body is played by the black and white color of the down. When the sun appears, black feathers actively absorb and accumulate heat sun rays. Nature has endowed these animals with unique mechanisms for survival in harsh conditions. For example, they are adapted to walk on snow and ice, relying on their heels and tail. To keep warm during severe frosts, emperor penguins gather in dense groups. Clinging to each other and constantly moving from the outer circle to its middle, they heat the air inside such a circle up to +35 degrees, at an external temperature of -20 °C.

The main habitat of penguins is Antarctica. They live in colonies, which can include a wide variety of birds. The largest colonies number up to 10 thousand penguins, small colonies unite about 300 individuals. The emperor penguin of all other species goes to the southern extremities, arranging its life on the ice floes. But to continue and incubate eggs, they return to the mainland together. According to the results of observations and studies, about 35-38 penguin colonies have been registered.

What do they eat

Emperor penguins, as excellent swimmers and divers, get their food for food only in the water. The diet consists of fish, squid, krill. Animals get food by joint efforts and, united in groups, unanimously attack a school of fish, attacking it with their beaks. They eat small fish even in the water, but larger specimens are delivered upstairs to gut it.

Interesting Facts: in pursuit of prey, the emperor penguin can dive to a depth of 500 meters and reach speeds of up to 6 km / h, and stay under water for about 15 minutes.

Penguins spend about two months a year in the sea, but then they are forced to return to procreate.

Emperor penguins form nesting colonies, which are located on coastal ice floes. A place for a colony is chosen by birds among cliffs or glaciers so that it is not blown by the winds, but there are polynyas and areas with open water nearby. Such areas are necessary for animals to quickly find food for chicks.

Breeding

The process of breeding chicks in an emperor penguin is very touching and noble. The female lays only one egg in May or June and, with the help of her beak, moves it onto her paws, covering the skin fold of the abdominal part of the body. An egg with a future baby weighs 450 grams, and its dimensions are 12x9 cm. The parent couple greets the appearance of the egg with a loud exclamation. Within a few hours, the male carefully takes the egg to himself, providing the opportunity, finally, for the female, after a long starvation, to refresh her strength in the water.

Caring males at this time huddle in dense groups and combine their efforts to save the life of future chicks. They will now keep the egg warm until the baby arrives. The female, rested and gaining strength, after three months finds her husband by voice and accepts from him an egg or a chick that has already appeared.

Interesting facts: the duration of incubation of an egg sometimes lasts up to 100 days, but usually a chick appears on the 62-66th day.

A hatched penguin weighs just over 300 grams. Five weeks later, the grown-up babies are collected together in a kind of " Kindergarten”, where they are protected and guarded by adult emperor penguins. From a large number chicks collected in one place, parents unmistakably find their own in order to feed them satisfyingly and on time. In December-January, the feeding of chicks ends, and after a month's molt, they, together with adults, go to sea until spring. The emperor penguin does not have too many enemies, so in vivo he lives up to 25 years.

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