Photo by Christopher Michel/Flickr Creative Commons.
Emperor penguins protect themselves from the cold by huddling together in large groups. Scientists recently noticed that these groups are constantly changing shape. Penguins on the outside of the groups are hit with cold Antarctic winds. At the same time, penguins in the middle of the group are so protected that they get too warm. So the penguins rotate. The ones on the edge go to the middle to warm up, and the ones in the middle head to the edges to cool down. This rotating pattern helps penguins adapt their huddle to best fit their environment’s temperature.
