Naturally, once the mothers finally reach the sea, they are eager to get in. They can hold their breath for over fifteen minutes and dive to a depth of 17 hundred feet. They approach the sea floor itself to feed on fish, krill, and squid. While the mothers finally feed their empty bellies, the fathers cling to life on the surface, trying to keep the egg safe and warm.

The wind will occasionally bring snow to clench the males thirst. Other than that there is only ice, which they cannot get at. They have been without food for over three months now. Each day brings them closer to exhaustion and starvation. Eventually, some, usually the older ones, will simply fall asleep and disappear. Now it is dark almost all of the time, and major blizzards arrive. At this, the fathers make extra efforts to protect themselves from the cold. For now, there is almost only night.

The hungry mothers are not the only ones who are overjoyed to return to the sea, their predators are happy to have them back as well. The leopard seal is a major predator for the penguins. By July, the females know that it is time for them to return to the nest. So, for the third time this year, the mothers will walk back, only this time in the dark.

As for the fathers, they wait for the mothers return, and discover that the chicks are hatching. Each day more eggs will hatch, but the chicks are hungry. They need the mothers to return, the fathers are hungry too, and they have not eaten in nearly four months now. If the mother does not arrive soon, the father will be forced to abandon the child and return to sea. There is one secret weapon against the newborns huger. The father coughs up a milky substance, this tiny meal will keep the chick alive for a day, perhaps too, hopefully long enough for the mother to arrive.