The emperor penguin is technically a bird, although one that makes its home in the sea. You may wonder then, why it travels on the ice. Each year at around the same time, the penguin leaves the comfort of the sea and embarks on a remarkable journey. He travels a great distance, and though he is a bird, he won’t fly, and though he lives in the sea, he won’t swim, mostly, mostly he will walk, but he won’t walk alone.

It is March and summer is over. Another long polar winter is about to begin. The birds have been feeding in the ocean waters for about three months, now with their bellies full it is time to find a mate. Their breeding ground may be up to seventy miles away. That is where they are headed, and nowhere else will do. To get there they will walk day and night continuously, and sometimes for a week. It is a long, dangerous and seemingly impossible journey. Some of them do not survive it.
Nonetheless, when the last of their clan climbs up out of the sea and onto the ice, they will begin their journey. It has been this way for thousands of years. There destination is always the same, but their path is not. The ice on which the birds travel, never stops shifting and changing and new road blocs will appear every year. Scientists are not exactly sure how they find their way. Perhaps they were assisted by the sun or the stars, or maybe after having taken this journey for thousands of years, they are guided by some invisible compass within them. So they never stay stumped for long, and eventually one of them in the clan picks up the trail and the journey continues.

When they get tired of walking, they give their feet a rest, and use their bellies instead, to slide around. It is oftentimes a faster method, especially if they need to go down a hill.