The egg of an emperor penguin

•The gestation period for female emperors is about 63 days. Females will lay only one egg, as it is too energetically expensive to raise more than one offspring. Additionally, only one egg can fit atop the feet, beneath the brood. Once the egg is laid, a risky transfer between the mother’s and father’s feet will occur. This transfer is carefully rehearsed, for if the egg drops and touches the frigid ice, the whole process will be for naught. The transfer of the egg to the male’s brooding pouch will enable the female to leave for the ocean to obtain food and regain strength from this energetically expensive process. The incubation of the egg externally from the female’s body is important to the emperor penguin, because while the female feeds at sea, the father diligently cares for the egg, making male emperors far more devoted fathers than many other species . For nine weeks, as winter intensifies, the fathers of the colony will huddle together for warmth, keeping the eggs safe inside their brooding pouches until the offspring are  ready to be born.Male members on the peripheral edges of the group try to ease their way into the warm core of the colony, but this process must be performed with caution, as one false step can cause the egg to fall, become exposed to the -60 degrees Celsius, and the embryo to freeze and die. Thus, huddling behavior within the colony is a critical aspect of emperor penguin survival during these winter months.