The Huddle That Survives the Storm

In the Antarctic winter, when temperatures plunge to negative sixty degrees and winds scream at a hundred miles per hour, emperor penguins do something remarkable. They huddle. Thousands of birds press together in a tight formation, sharing body heat against the killing cold. But here is the part that stops biologists in their tracks: the huddle rotates. The penguins on the outer edge, the ones taking the full blast of the wind, slowly cycle inward, while those who have been warmed in the center move outward to take their turn in the cold.…