How deep can they dive?

Emperor penguins dive in a tide crack. Image: R. Kirkwood

Since we cannot follow the penguins out to sea we rely on electronic instruments to record their activities. The time-depth recorders are mini-computers that record the time when a penguin dives, how long it dives for and to what depth it dives. From these records we also learn how much time the birds spent in the water, how long they rest between dives and at what time of day they are most active.

Deepest dive profile Photo: B. Wienecke

Emperor penguins dive deeper than any other bird. Most of their dives are between 100 and 200 m but occasionally they go a lot deeper. The deepest dive we have on record (red line in the figure above) was an incredible 565 m deep!! The penguin had been diving to over 450 m quite regularly until it finally reach this enormous depth!

Penguins have to hold their breath when they dive. How long they hold their breath for depends on how deep they dive and how fast they move. On average, Emperor penguins dive for 3 to 6 minutes, but they can dive for longer. Among many thousands of dives we recorded two that lasted 22 minutes!! That is a very long time even for an excellent diver like an Emperor penguin.

These are two dives that lasted 22 minutes!