Family

The arctic blizzard blew hard against the ever-enduring male. Ice and snow kept beating his back yet he would not succumb to the climate. All his life, he had been waiting for this event; it was the only purpose of his mortal existence. The frail two-week-old egg rested on his feet and he protected it from the elements using his belly fat. The blubber he had kept it warm. With his body temperature dropping rapidly, he huddled up with the rest of the males; it was the only way he could keep warm. The egg was growing fast within the grasp of his feet, all he needed to do now was to wait.

In a diverse and magnificent kingdom, not many would stick together and mate for life. Yet, his species did it. In such an environment, it was the only way to ensure survival of the species. Because that was what life was created for - to ensure the continuation of its kind in reproduction.

Parenting an unborn chick was not easy, especially since his mate was away hunting for two months and the chick would hatch soon. When it does break through its frail casing to peer out into the 'white world', only he could feed it, with whatever food was left to regurgitate.

A month had passed since the bundle of joy had been passed onto him, and now his effort was duly rewarded as the tiny beak burst forth through the shell and looked up at daddy's face. One could even say he teared when he say his baby. However, his troubles had not ended, not yet. The female mother had not yet returned and it was all up to him to feed the chick. As he summoned up all his might to bring back up the food from his stomach, he worried there would not be enough for the chick to survive. Already, the other males had succumbed to the arctic hunger and abandoned their chicks so they could feed themselves. A mere thirthy seconds was all it took for the chick to die if it were left exposed to the cold. But he was stronger than that. He was not going to let his baby die. He mustered all his remaining strength and tucked the chick under his belly. He was just all too lucky that there were no predators other than the arctic ice. He was not in any way strong enough to fend off anything else.

For two months now, male and female had been separated and their hearts yearned for each other. Both of them set on a single conquest - to raise the precious baby they had. Back in the waters, the female did not know her baby had hatched, but she suspected it. She knew she had to get back quick, or her partner would surely perish. The greedy leopard seal sat on the ice and waited, never failing to seize an opportunity for a meal. She however, did not care. She had to get back, never mind the danger to herself. In perfect synchronization, the females lunged themselves into the air, onto the ice and quickly scrambled across it to safety. Some had not made it; they fell prey to the seal. But that is just how it is - the circle of life.

She scrambled back inward to the ice where her partner was. Full of energy she had gathered from the fish in her stomach, she screamed out across the ice, calling to her partner. At last, after two long months, the male heard her triumphant call. Using what was left of him, he called back and soon they were re-united. He cuddled her using his beak and introduced her to their chick. The reunion did not last long though, the male was too weak from starvation to rejoice just yet. He passed the chick to the female, being careful not to touch the ice, and joining the other males, waddled back to the waters.

The process of "sharing the responsibility" is carried out many times, till the chick is old enough to learn to hunt for itself. Then the family would migrate back to the warm seas. It is a long and arduous task, yet why do Emperor Penguins still do it? That is what they were created to do. One could say it was a command from God even; "And God said, go forth and multiply". The penguins know the value of life because each day they put it on the line. It is survival. Yet they choose to do it together - male, female and chick - because they are one. They are family.