Watch Emperor Penguins Launch Out of the Water Like Submarine Missiles

Emperor penguins are birds that can swim like fish! This extraordinary footage was captured off Cape Washington in Antarctica and features a group of penguins going out to sea to feed. Penguin fishing expeditions can take anything from 10 days to three weeks! Then they return to the colony and hang out on the ice floes. This means that there is a constant movement of penguins entering and leaving the water as they take turns to go fishing. Getting into the water is fairly straightforward but getting out requires quite a lot of effort. It’s made even more difficult when leopard seals are hanging around waiting to attack.

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How Do Emperor Penguins Exit the Water

Emperor penguins are around 4 feet long and weigh 80 pounds – they are not exactly small birds! Yet, they exit the water with amazing speed. The underwater footage here gives us a unique perspective on how they achieved this amazing feat.

The penguins start their run up from some distance away so that they can build up enough momentum to exit the water and land on the ice. They release air bubbles from their crown, belly, and back which creates a micro tunnel of air around their bodies. Air creates less friction than water so the penguins can triple their speed as they swim towards the surface.

Viewed from above the water, this is equally as spectacular and hilarious at the same time. The penguins emerge from the depths with such speech and they become airborne and then smack down on the ice on their bellies. Ouch!

What Do Emperor Penguins Normally Eat?

Emperor penguins are found throughout the Antarctic continent and the South Antarctic islands. They are marine birds who congregate on dense and stable ice floes along the coastline to breed. When they are not breeding, they are found in seasonally packed ice zones so that they can access the open sea to forage for food.

These guys are carnivores and feed mainly on fish and krill. Their tongue is rough and spiky which helps them to eat slippery fish. It also enables them to eat squids. They will eat a variety of fish species depending on what is abundant at the time. However, we know that their diet is often made up of Antarctic silverfish. The mollusks that form part of their diet are often glacier squid and hooked squid.

Penguins can dive to depths of up to 500 m and can stay underwater for 15 minutes. Some penguins have been seen traveling up to 1000 km in one dive!

The photo featured at the top of this post is © iStock.com/Coldimages