The emperor penguin lays its eggs in June, in the Antarctic midwinter.

All that was needed were some fresh-laid emperor penguin eggs.

New emperor penguin breeding colonies have recently been discovered through the use of satellites images.

It has been 44 years since an emperor penguin was last spotted in New Zealand.

Preserved emperor penguin inside Scott's hut at Cape Evans.

Quark Expeditions is one international tour operator offering emperor penguin safaris in October and November next year.

By comparison, an emperor penguin stands at 115 centimetres and weighs 30kg.

The findings, being published today, suggest current sea ice conditions might be optimal for the emperor penguin population.

Zoologically, the flamingo is the most odd and interesting bird on the American continent except the emperor penguin.

Researchers in the Antarctic say there has been a dramatic collapse of the world's second largest emperor penguin colony.

Four emperor penguin colonies had recently been found on ice shelves, above sea level where glaciers spill off the land.

The emperor penguin of Antarctica, which weighs up to 94 pounds and lives into the thirties, is at times belligerent.

From sharks to penguins and The Department of Conservation says it is shocked to have found an emperor penguin on a Kapiti Coast beach.

The good news was that the team found the Antarctic emperor penguin population numbered about 595,000, nearly double previous estimates.

Satellites in space have discovered 11 new emperor penguin colonies in Antarctica - boosting previous recorded numbers by 20 percent.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Dr Paul Scofield, from Canterbury Museum, holds the fossil, next to a similar bone of an emperor penguin in Christchurch, New Zealand.