BELOW Emperors find a
new mate each year, and a
great commotion ripples
through the colony as the
birds appraise potential
partners. When a pair is
established, male and
female consummate
coupledom with a graceful
ritual of bowing, preening
and calling. The pair-bond
runs deep but will be tested
to the limit as the breeding
season progresses.RIGHT Atka’s landscape
is ever-changing, with new
icebergs drifting in as the
bay freezes. Averaging
-20°C, the autumn days
are positively balmy
compared to the brutal
months ahead, when the
mercury plummets to
-55°C and the sea-ice is
battered by blizzards that
rage for days, even weeks.
No other species has the
capacity to tough out
winter here, at the very
end of the Earth.44 BBC Wildlife December 2019