Tens of thousands of penguins huddle to keep warm. Will the outermost layer freeze to death?

No, "Penguins" is a constantly moving group, and its position will change.

The most typical representative is the emperor penguin, which is the largest penguin. Other smaller penguins will flee the Antarctic continent at the coldest time, that is, at midnight, and go to warmer waters. Emperor penguins will stay against the cold wind. Their magic weapon against low temperature and strong wind is their huge size, fine fur, thick fat and warmth.

Emperor penguins breed in bad weather. After laying eggs, the female emperor penguins will go to the sea for food. Male emperor penguins hide their eggs under their bodies and hatch with their own body temperature. Before the female emperor penguins come back, they don't eat or drink, consuming accumulated fat. After the chicks hatch, male emperor penguins take care of them most of the time. If the wind speed increases and the temperature drops, the left-behind male emperor penguins will start to hold a group to keep warm. The research shows that when there is no wind at -25℃, the emperor penguins have an 80% chance of bunching up, and once the wind speed reaches 15 m/s, the chance of bunching up will increase to 98%.

At first, a large group of emperor penguins stood sparsely. When the wind is getting stronger and stronger, the nearest emperor penguin will start to approach, and other emperor penguins will gradually gather around. Penguin pile will get bigger and bigger. Newcomers will stand on the outermost side silently without squeezing in, and then penguins will lean on it, so the pile will get bigger and bigger.

Will there be penguins who want to take advantage and deliberately squeeze into it?

Of course not. The innermost part is reserved for the chicks. When the wind is strong, penguins will surround the chicks in the innermost part and the adult penguins will stand at the outermost part. Penguins are driven by nature and don't play tricks like humans. Moreover, the penguin pile is constantly moving, and it will move once every once in a while, but it will not directly rotate and destroy the wind wall, but slowly move in random directions next to it, exchanging positions during the movement. Penguin piles change shape in about 30-60 seconds and move about 10-20cm per minute.

Besides, emperor penguins hate crowds. They just stand together, don't crowd too tightly, because crowding and pushing will destroy the warmth of feathers.

The most important thing is that few penguins want to stand in the innermost part, because it is too hot!

A pile of thousands of emperor penguins, the internal temperature can reach 30℃, just like a sauna for penguins. The penguins inside will be so hot that they lie prone on the ground and even eat snow to cool down.

Therefore, don't think that the outermost penguin has suffered. In fact, the most uncomfortable thing is the inside.

Emperor penguins huddle against strong winds. As soon as the strong wind stops, the penguins will disperse in a hubbub. It is usually a short-term group.

Emperor penguins hold a group not for themselves, but for the whole group. They will make every member enjoy equal rights and interests in tacit cooperation, which we humans can't do at present.