How Penguins Huddle To Keep Warm And Cosy

So toasty.

It's cold down in Antarctica, so penguins have to huddle together to keep warm.

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Now scientists have modeled how emperor penguins stay so close together in their cosy huddles.

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It only takes one penguin to move 2cm in any direction for the surrounding penguins to move too. This has a knock on effect, sending waves throughout the huddle.

The waves also mean that smaller huddles can eventually become much bigger.

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2cm is roughly double the thickness of a penguin's insulating feather layer. That suggests penguins in a huddle are just barely touching each other, allowing each penguins' outer feathers can still do their job properly too.

Emperor penguins are the only vertebrate species that breed in the -50C temperatures of the Antarctic winter, so keeping warm is a priority.

Flickr: asoc

Male penguins are solely responsible for keeping their single egg warm throughout the winter, when females go out to sea to feed.

They hold the egg in a pouch above their feet. Luckily, a penguin's body temperature in the middle of a huddle can reach 37C.

Toasty!

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