Winter came in the month of May! Yes, May, for the place is the South Pole and seasons follow opposite to their order in the northern half of the globe. Darkness prevailed, which would continue until the arrival of spring in September, and the blizzard winds intensified, reaching speeds of 300 kilometers per hour.
The Female Penguin: The female emperor penguin bird was about to lay the egg she had carried inside for a long time. She had supplied it with rich nutrients that made her body as a mother weaken severely. Finally, the female laid her egg to brood over it as birds do!
The Male Penguin: Rather, the male caught it from her and immediately placed it on his feet, covering it with a thick fold of skin from his belly to protect it from bitter cold.
The Female Penguin Regaining Her Activity: The female left him carrying the egg and went to the sea. The burden of the egg inside her had exhausted her, and she suffered in laying it. She had to compensate for what she experienced by feeding on a lot of fish that would restore strength to her. To obtain that, she had to travel a distance of 150 miles over ice to reach open waters, throw herself into water, swim, and devour fish that would restore strength to her, in addition to a store she would carry in her stomach to feed the little one upon her return.
The Male Penguin’s Role with the Egg: A long journey that takes her three months. Three long months the father spent fasting, standing while carrying the egg on his feet attached to his belly. He had to balance precisely so the egg, perfectly round, wouldn’t slip from him and roll away, exposed to icy winds, freezing and causing the expected chick inside to die. The father remained carrying the egg steadily throughout the three long, harsh months.
The Little Penguin Chick: As soon as the chick emerged from the egg, he caught it between his feet, attached his belly to it, and began nursing it! Yes, nursing, but from his beak. There’s a crop at his throat where he stores a secretion of the best nutrients. He pours it from his beak into the chick’s beak to satisfy and grow it.
The Chick Grows and Becomes Bigger: The father continued nursing the little penguin chick with his beak. The chick had emerged from the egg gray, and with time its colors combined to make its back black and belly white like his father and mother. Like them, he would walk upright on his feet, appearing as if walking on his tail. His weight would increase to reach thirty kilograms, and his height would reach 120 centimeters. He would become one of the emperors of the Antarctic continent, whose cold no living creature can withstand, like emperor penguin birds.
The Return of the Female Penguin Mother: The little one grows, while the father who nurses and cares for him diminishes. The long months exhausted the father’s body and drew much from his body’s reserves, to the point that he lost 40% of his weight. Before the father would fall from severe weakness, he heard a voice calling him. It was his female, the mother penguin, who had returned from her long journey to take his place in caring for the little one, and he would head toward the sea waters to eat and regain his strength.
The Meeting of the Female Penguin Mother with Her Little One: The little penguin heard the call with eagerness and answered the voice calling him with all the strength and love in him.