QUESTION:
How long does it take a parent Adelie penguin to get 
food for the chick?


        Lindsey B.,  Mrs. Garvin's Fifth Grade Science Class
        Mauldin Elementary, Mauldin, SC


ANSWER from Donna Patterson, Resercher, Dr. Fraser's Team
            Palmer Station, Antarctica
            Fri, 21 Mar 1997 15:17:29 -0500

Hello Lindsey, 

The length of time it takes a penguin to forage for it's chicks 
depends on the concentration and location of the food source.  Around 
Palmer Station, the foraging trip durations last anywhere from 3 to 
40 hours.     If krill are difficult to find, or if the animals 
available are very small individuals, it will take longer to fill up 
and return to the breeding colony.  If there is a high concentration of 
krill, or if the swarms are composed of larger animals, penguins will 
be able to fill up sooner and return to feed the chicks.  Our 
research helps us to understand what factors are important to the 
foraging success of a penguin and how this changes each year.  Other 
species of penguin, such as the Emperor, sometimes makes long trips 
across fast ice and will be gone for at least two weeks from the 
breeding colony.  

Donna Patterson