Difference between revisions of "Template:POTD protected"

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The '''[[emperor penguin]]''' is the tallest and heaviest of all living [[penguin]] species and is endemic to [[Antarctica]]. The male and female are similar in plumage and size, reaching 122 cm (48 in) in height and weighing from 22 to 45 kg (49 to 99 lb). The dorsal side and head are black and sharply delineated from the white belly, pale-yellow breast and bright-yellow ear patches. Like all penguins it is flightless, with a streamlined body, and wings stiffened and flattened into flippers for a marine habitat.
The '''[[southern elephant seal]]''' is one of the two species of elephant seals. It is the largest member of the clade Pinnipedia and the order Carnivora, as well as the largest marine mammal that is not a cetacean. It gets its name from its massive size and the large proboscis of the adult male, which is used to produce very loud roars, especially during the breeding season.


Its diet consists primarily of fish, but can also include crustaceans, such as [[krill]], and cephalopods, such as squid. The only penguin species that breeds during the Antarctic winter, emperor penguins trek 50–120 km (31–75 mi) over the ice to breeding colonies which may include thousands of individuals. The female lays a single egg, which is incubated by the male while the female returns to the sea to feed; parents subsequently take turns foraging at sea and caring for their chick in the colony. The lifespan is typically 20 years in the wild, although observations suggest that some individuals may live to 50 years of age.
The world population was estimated at 650,000 animals in the mid-1990s, and was estimated in 2005 at between 664,000 and 740,000 animals. Studies have shown the existence of three geographic subpopulations, one in each of the three oceans. Tracking studies have indicated the routes traveled by elephant seals, demonstrating their main feeding area is at the edge of the Antarctic continent. While elephant seals may come ashore in [[Antarctica]] occasionally to rest or to mate, they gather to breed in subantarctic locations.


<p><small>Photographer: Mtpaley</small></p>
<p><small>Photographer: Liam Quinn</small></p>
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[[:Category:Images|'''(More Images)''']]
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Latest revision as of 03:24, 2 May 2024

Elephant Seal penguins.jpg

The southern elephant seal is one of the two species of elephant seals. It is the largest member of the clade Pinnipedia and the order Carnivora, as well as the largest marine mammal that is not a cetacean. It gets its name from its massive size and the large proboscis of the adult male, which is used to produce very loud roars, especially during the breeding season.

The world population was estimated at 650,000 animals in the mid-1990s, and was estimated in 2005 at between 664,000 and 740,000 animals. Studies have shown the existence of three geographic subpopulations, one in each of the three oceans. Tracking studies have indicated the routes traveled by elephant seals, demonstrating their main feeding area is at the edge of the Antarctic continent. While elephant seals may come ashore in Antarctica occasionally to rest or to mate, they gather to breed in subantarctic locations.

Photographer: Liam Quinn

(More Images)