Animals of Antarctica

Antarctic is the coldest place on Earth. It is May, winter time in Antarctic. The temperature is -40°C and the speed of the wind is 50 m/sec. We’d rather say a hurricane. And these glorious birds, Emperor penguins, have gathered into the colony that reaches 10 thousand pairs of individuals, and prepare to lay eggs. These birds have been working out such behavior for thousands of years. If you want to survive in the cold and wind, you need to bunch into dense groups, press close against each other, and swap from time to time without any grudges and quarrels: those who stood outside and got cold are passed inside to get warm. And others go to the front line and expose themselves to the wind. You must admit that your friends do not always do so. Here the couple has the long-awaited egg. Father penguin takes the egg on its feet and covers it with its body. The temperature under the skin folds rises up to +35°C. Two months father penguins keep guard without food, huddled together. At the same time, mothers restore their power and feed in the sea. And when a chick appears, the mother takes care of him. Summer comes, the chick grows, and it is not so afraid of its main enemy –skua pirate-bird.

Thus evolutionary changes in the behavior of living things allow them to organize their life in a place seemingly unsuitable for this in the best way. The ocean helps the whole population of Antarctic to survive. Everybody finds food there; both penguins and the largest of flying birds, the wandering albatross.

Let’s move right