The Warmth of Penguin Huddles
Emperor penguins are epitomes of cooperation and equity
It is July. Humans on the northern half of the planet are sipping iced tea under the sun. Meanwhile, on the southern tip of the planet, things could not be more different. All is wind and ice. Howling winds surround the emperor penguin in the dark polar night. The females are out at sea, leaving the males waddling with an egg tucked into their brood pouch resting on their feet. Katabatic winds, rushing down from icy Antarctic slopes at 140 kmph, can bring the temperatures down to -35 degrees C. Even for the well-furred and fatted birds, this is freezing. But the penguins don’t choose fight or flight — they stay and cooperate.
Penguin ‘huddles’ have spirals of chonky birds squashed together. Their squished-together body heat can raise the temperatures at the centre of the huddle up to 37 degrees C. That’s a difference of 72 degrees between the middle and periphery — from Antarctica to Zanzibar in a span of a few portly birds!
So which penguin gets tropical heat, and which the frigid poles? Is their a penguin hierarchy of heat haves and have-nots? Emperor penguins are more large-hearted than humans, it seems. They take turns — all penguins spend roughly the same time in different parts of the huddle, and keep moving. Every penguin is an Emperor. This cooperative behaviour has allowed emperor penguins to survive the bone-chilling freeze of polar nights — and become the only species to nest in the Antarctic winter.
And to give birth to little floof-balls, come August. Penguins warm our hearts in many ways. Perhaps they can teach us something about equality.
Explore Further
Watch how penguins keep each other warm in the huddle: Penguins Do the Wave to Keep Warm
Read more about huddles and their dynamics: Groups of emperor penguins protect from the cold due to social huddling
Puzzle over huddle shape math: Math of the Penguins
