Emperor penguins are very sociable creatures and live in colonies of anything from five hundred to twenty thousand pairs of penguins. It is very rare to find an emperor penguin living outside Antarctica. 

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Daily Life

Despite looking ungainly on land, once in the water the emperor penguin becomes an efficient predator. The streamlined shape of a penguin's body means that, although this species only reaches speeds of around 6-8km per hour, it can change direction and twist around quickly when chasing its prey.

The emperor penguin can claim to be one of the world's deepest-diving birds. In 1969 a team of American scientists established that the emperor dives to depths of 265 m (869 ft). This penguin can also stay underwater for 18 minutes which is far longer than any other bird.

Read More: Breeding

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