Penguins
In response to a, uh, conversation.
Bri wakes up. Her eyes remain closed, but she feels the others around her getting ready for the big day. It’s that time of the year already.
Nick rubs her back to ease her waking state. Time to wake up, Bri.
He nuzzles his head into the back of hers, and she still refuses to open her eyes.
Bri. He tries again. Bri-i-i-anne.
She opens her eyes and blinks a few times, adjusting to the light. It’s cold-that is expected-but it’s colder than last year, last month, even just the day before. Bri notices the large group breaking down into two smaller ones. Sadly, her gaze drops to the ground.
You should go.
I really don’t want to.
You know you have to.
Oh, how she hates when Nick was right. It didn’t happen often, but when it did, she did not approve. Yeah, I do.
I’ll take care of it. He rubs her back again.
You fucking better or I’ll feed you to a whale. She rests her forehead on his, locking her eyes with his.
He smiles. Bring us lots of goodies.
She nods, seeing the two smaller groups are now more defined. I’ll be back soon.
She starts walking away, but he makes a noise that stops her. She gives him a questioning look. He points between her feet. If she could blush, she would have. She waddles back and successfully transfers the egg to him. I love you.
Love you too. Nick lightly taps her behind when she starts to walk away again. Bri not-so-lightly smacks him and joins the rest of the females. The long wait begins.
In May or June, the female [Emperor] penguin lays one 450 gram (1 lb) egg, but at this point her nutritional reserves are exhausted and she must immediately return to the sea to feed. Very carefully, she transfers the egg to the male, who incubates the egg in his brood pouch for about 65 days consecutively without food by surviving on his fat reserves and spending the majority of the time sleeping to conserve energy. … To survive the cold and winds of up to 200 km/h (120 mph), the males huddle together, taking turns in the middle of the huddle. They have also been observed with their backs to the wind to conserve body heat. After about two months, the female returns. She finds her mate among the hundreds of fathers via his call and takes over caring for the chick, feeding it by regurgitating the food that she has stored in her stomach. The male then leaves to take his turn at sea. His trip is slightly shorter than before, because the melting of ice in the summer gradually decreases the distance between the breeding site and the open sea. After another few weeks, the male returns and both parents tend to the chick by keeping it off the ice and feeding it regurgitated food. … Eventually, both the chick and parents return to the sea and spend the rest of the summer feeding there.
- Wikipedia: Emperor Penguin
Bri wakes up. Her eyes remain closed, but she feels the others around her getting ready for the big day. It’s that time of the year already.
Nick rubs her back to ease her waking state. Time to wake up, Bri.
He nuzzles his head into the back of hers, and she still refuses to open her eyes.
Bri. He tries again. Bri-i-i-anne.
She opens her eyes and blinks a few times, adjusting to the light. It’s cold-that is expected-but it’s colder than last year, last month, even just the day before. Bri notices the large group breaking down into two smaller ones. Sadly, her gaze drops to the ground.
You should go.
I really don’t want to.
You know you have to.
Oh, how she hates when Nick was right. It didn’t happen often, but when it did, she did not approve. Yeah, I do.
I’ll take care of it. He rubs her back again.
You fucking better or I’ll feed you to a whale. She rests her forehead on his, locking her eyes with his.
He smiles. Bring us lots of goodies.
She nods, seeing the two smaller groups are now more defined. I’ll be back soon.
She starts walking away, but he makes a noise that stops her. She gives him a questioning look. He points between her feet. If she could blush, she would have. She waddles back and successfully transfers the egg to him. I love you.
Love you too. Nick lightly taps her behind when she starts to walk away again. Bri not-so-lightly smacks him and joins the rest of the females. The long wait begins.
In May or June, the female [Emperor] penguin lays one 450 gram (1 lb) egg, but at this point her nutritional reserves are exhausted and she must immediately return to the sea to feed. Very carefully, she transfers the egg to the male, who incubates the egg in his brood pouch for about 65 days consecutively without food by surviving on his fat reserves and spending the majority of the time sleeping to conserve energy. … To survive the cold and winds of up to 200 km/h (120 mph), the males huddle together, taking turns in the middle of the huddle. They have also been observed with their backs to the wind to conserve body heat. After about two months, the female returns. She finds her mate among the hundreds of fathers via his call and takes over caring for the chick, feeding it by regurgitating the food that she has stored in her stomach. The male then leaves to take his turn at sea. His trip is slightly shorter than before, because the melting of ice in the summer gradually decreases the distance between the breeding site and the open sea. After another few weeks, the male returns and both parents tend to the chick by keeping it off the ice and feeding it regurgitated food. … Eventually, both the chick and parents return to the sea and spend the rest of the summer feeding there.
- Wikipedia: Emperor Penguin