Social Structure, Reproduction and Development

Penguins tend to stay in groups when fishing and eating, but sometimes will fish and dive alone. During the mating season they are all in huge groups called rookeries to huddle together and stay warm. 

Penguins don't necessarily have a leader or roles within society, they all feed and raise their young together but in pairs amongst the  group. They also aren't necessarily male or female lead for the most part.

Emperor Penguins Mate once a year and are the only animals to breed in the winter time in antarctica. The penguins return year after year to the same place, the penguins only mate with one other penguin and once the offspring is born the father is the one that takes care of it until the mother comes back to the colony. The female emperor penguins lay a total of one egg unlike two with other penguin breeds. The egg is taken care of by the father in the incubating pouch and isn't hatched until months later in june or july

Emperor Penguins go from egg, hatching, chick, juvenile, to adult. They reach sexual maturity after just 3 years but usually end up waiting till 4-6 years old before having offspring of their own. 

In the beginning of their life the penguins stick by their parents, but towards their juvenile stages they start to separate from their parents. They full separate from their parents after about 2 years. 

During the Day penguins usually spend their time in the water and/or eating the fish that they catch and cleaning themselves.

Males and females don't differ by that much, however the females are a little bit bigger in size, have a different colored spot on their beak. Also, the mother gives birth to the offspring and the father raises the young.