18th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
Global warming

I was biologist during a fourteen month in French Antarctica. Emperor penguins are breeding really close to the station during winter. To survive to the extreme cold and windy condition, emperor penguin gathers in huddle. Even with -25°C the inside of this huddle can be really hot and reach for than 30°C. That what happened in this picture, the penguins were overheating and were oblige to disperse to cool down.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 06.2019
Date Uploaded: 11.2020
Photo Location: Antarctica
Copyright: © virgil decourteille