🐾 Penguin

Penguin

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Who it is

• Scientific name: Spheniscidae (family); emperor penguin Aptenodytes forsteri
• Family & relatives: Members of the penguin family (Spheniscidae); their closest living relatives are albatrosses and petrels.
• How to spot it: Recognize them by their upright stance, tuxedo-like black back and white belly, and flipper-shaped wings.

Its body & abilities

• Size: Sizes range from the tiny little penguin at about 33 cm to the emperor penguin at up to 1.2 m (13 in to 4 ft) tall.
• Weight: Weights range from about 1 kg in small species to 45 kg (2 to 99 lb) in the emperor penguin.
• Body & adaptations: Dense waterproof feathers and a layer of fat keep them warm, while stiff flipper-wings and solid bones make them powerful divers.
• Top speed: Most swim around 6 to 9 km/h, but the gentoo penguin can reach about 36 km/h (22 mph), the fastest of all.
• Strength: Emperor penguins can dive over 500 m (1,640 ft) deep and hold their breath for around 20 minutes.
• Senses: They have sharp underwater vision and good hearing, which helps parents and chicks find each other by voice in huge colonies.
• Growing up: Chicks hatch covered in fluffy down, are fed regurgitated food by their parents, and molt into waterproof feathers before going to sea.

Where it lives

• Habitat: They live along cold seas and coasts, from Antarctic ice to temperate and even tropical shores.
• Where in the world: Found almost entirely in the Southern Hemisphere, from Antarctica to South America, Africa, Australia, and the Galapagos.
• Territory: Many defend a small nest site within a crowded colony that can number in the thousands.

What it eats

• Diet: Carnivores that catch food at sea and get the water they need from the ocean, aided by a salt-filtering gland.
• Favorite foods: They eat fish, squid, and small shrimp-like krill.
• How it hunts: They dive and pursue prey underwater, using their flippers to steer in fast, twisting chases.

How it behaves

• How it moves: They waddle or hop on land, toboggan on their bellies over ice, and swim with beating flipper-wings.
• When it is active: Mostly active by day, feeding at sea and returning to the colony to rest.
• Family life: Highly social; a group is called a colony on land or a raft in the water.
• How it talks: They call with distinctive trumpeting and braying sounds and use head and flipper displays.
• Babies: Most lay one or two eggs; the emperor lays a single egg that the male balances on his feet through the Antarctic winter.

Its place in nature

• Role in nature: They are key ocean predators and prey; leopard seals, orcas, and sea lions hunt them at sea while skuas take eggs and chicks.
• Conservation: Status varies by species; the emperor penguin is Near Threatened, with melting sea ice and warming oceans as major threats.
• Dangers: Predators, starvation when fish are scarce, harsh weather, and loss of sea ice cause most deaths.

Life & legacy

• How long it lives: Emperor penguins live about 15 to 20 years in the wild.
• In our culture: Beloved for their comic waddle and devoted parenting, penguins star in films and are symbols of the polar world.
• Where to see it: See them in Antarctica, the Galapagos, South Africa's Boulders Beach, and coasts of Chile, Argentina, and New Zealand.
• Fun fact: Emperor penguins huddle together by the thousands, taking turns on the cold outside edge to share warmth in the Antarctic winter.