Penguins
Lal Cin
Abstracts
Range
All penguin species are native to Southern Hemisphere. Many penguins live at the South Pole on
Penguins are flightless birds that are aquatic and everything about their body shape is tuned for
Antarctica, but not all penguins live in such a cold climates. They can be found on the coasts of South
swimming. They are known for their black and white feathers and their short legs. Unlike most birds,
America, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the Galapagos Islands. Most penguins live on remote
penguins are not able to fly but their flipper-like wings make them a powerful swimmer. There are 18
islands and regions free from land predators. Different species thrive in varying climates, from freezing
different species of penguin in the world and they vary in size and shape. Penguins are social birds that
cold climate to tropical climates. Some live on thick ice while others live on sandy beaches very close to
live together in groups. All species of penguin can be found in the southern hemisphere, from Antarctica
the equator. Penguins do not migrate great distances and they generally return to colonies where they
to the tropical Galapagos Islands. Penguin population are declining due to diseases, climate change,
were hatched and breed. Penguins live close to water where they can swim and hunt for food. Their
pollution, and decreasing in food sources.
body is designed to easily adapt to water. They are able to live in the coldest part of the world because
their feathers keep the water for rechecking their body. Most penguins live close to cold regions because
Traits
their main food sources such as fish, krill, squid, and crustaceans are found in colder water.
Penguins tobogganing over ice to move faster. From, artflakes.com
Two Skaus teaming up to steal the egg from the adelie penguin (Pennycook, 2009).
Breeding
Penguins are known for their tuxedo-like black and white coloring called counter shading. This
Conservation
protects the penguins from predators in the sea and on land as well. Penguins are shaped like a
torpedo; they have round compact bodies with short necks and round big head that help them
Penguins usually mate, nest and raise their chicks at special nesting area on the shores. They build
adapted to water. They have denser bones, subcutaneous fat and thick skin for protection. Their body
their nesting area with whatever material they could find. Breeding seasons vary among species, the
There are many steps we can take to protect penguins and improve their environments. Enforcing
is designed to help them survive in marine environment and help them stay warm in extremely cold
annual breeding seasons for most species is during spring through summer (seaworld.org, 2002). Mate
better policies and regulation can lessen oil pollution and other oceanic pollution. Society can help by
selection is up to the female and they usually select the same male from the previous year. Nesting
preventing overfishing and buying from fishers that practice fishing methods that are more sustainable.
habitats and nesting materials vary among species to species, for example; emperor penguins prefer ice
We can help keep the world's ocean clean by recycling and disposing trash properly. Help slow global
areas with fairly level surface and sheltered from winds while chinstrap penguins nest on fairly steep
climate change by using energy efficient appliances and reducing daily energy use. We can also help by
slopes. Their egg shapes and sizes vary among species.
donating to penguin conservation organizations and volunteering to care for penguins. Anyone who
climates. They are awkward on land and they often waddle due to their legs and feel being set far
back on their bodies. They have short legs and webbed feet that allow them to jump from rock to
rock, move faster over ice and aid in swimming. Unlike other birds, penguins have short compacted
and waterproof feathers help keep themselves warm. Penguin’s wings are tapered, flat and very thin,
they cannot fly but their specialized flipper wings make them a power swimmer (Fordyce, 2012).
Prey
When under water, penguin uses the wings to speed and the legs and feet for direction changes.
World Penguin Distribution marked in orange. The picture show that all penguin species live in
loves these unique birds learns the threats and takes step to protect them.
Southern Hemisphere. From, defenders.org
Penguins spends many of their lives in the sea, they have supraorbital gland that helps extract salt
from their body and keep the bird's body chemistry balanced. Different species of penguins can be
Penguins eat seafood, mainly fishes and krill but they also eat squid and crustaceans. Food
identified by their head and facial marking (seaworld.org, 2002). The largest penguin is the emperor
preferences are slightly different from species to species (Chiaradia, 2012). The amount of food
penguins; average stands about 45 inches tall and weighs 90 pounds. The smallest is the fairy
consumed depends on its overall size. Penguins feed at sea they rely on their vision to locate prey. They
penguin; these bids stand 10 inches tall on average and weight about 2.5 pounds.
Threats
References
catch prey with their bills while their spiny tongue and powerful jaw help grip the pray from falling.
Order: Sphenisciformes, Family: Spheniscidae, Class: Aves
They swallow food as whole. Many species prefer to hunt near the shoreline but will travel various
Climate change is the main cause of threats to penguins. Due to rising temperature, penguin
Behavior
http://www.artflakes.com/en/products/emperor-penguins-tobogganing, accessed 11/25/13
distances in search of food. Penguins often consume more when there’s more food because it allows
population has decrease about nearly 80 presents (defenders.org). Study show that global temperature
http://www.defenders.org/penguins/basic-facts, accessed 11/25/13
them to build up layers of fat. Penguins go through fasting period during nesting season; they do not
has been increasing and the annual sea ice melting season also extended. The loss of ice means less food
http://www.defenders.org/penguins/threats, accessed 11/25/13
leave nesting areas to feed. Instead, they used their built up fat layer for energy until the molt is over. As
for penguins because their main pray depend on polar ice to reproduce. Also, penguins are not able to
Penguins are social birds that swim, feed, and nest together in groups. They are highly adapted
to life in water and spend as much as 75% of their time there. Unlike many aquatic birds, penguin
species are considered to show more impressive breath holding capabilities (Halsey, 2002). The
emperor penguins can dive for well over 10 minutes. They can dive well below the water's surface to
find prey. They can swim as fast as fifteen miles per hours. While swimming penguins usually leap
http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/penguins/physical.html, accessed 11/25/13
soon as the egg is laid, the male are left at nesting area to watch and keep the egg warm while the female
reach their food source because the currents and moving much faster. Climate change could also affect
CHIARADIA, A., FORERO, M. G., HOBSON, K. A., SWEARER, S. E., HUME, F.,
go out looking for food. After hatching, the chick is fad by both of its parents until it can hunt on its
their habitat, forcing the penguins to move and find new place to live and breed. Other threats to
own. Penguins don’t live near fresh water; they have a gland that takes salt out of the sea water that they
RENWICK, L., & DANN, P. (2012). Diet segregation between two colonies of little penguins
penguins are humans because of food competition. Human reduce the food available for penguins, we
drink.
Eudyptula minor in southeast Australia. Austral Ecology, 37(5), 610-619. doi:10.1111/j.1442are able to catch mass quantities of marine organism due to advance in technology. Penguins can get
List of penguin species
9993.2011.02323.x.
caught in nets and suffer from other harmful fishing techniques. Oceanic pollution such as oil spill, leak
in and out of water in shallow arcs known as porpoising which help them breathe. To move faster on
fuel and trash in the ocean can destroy penguin's habitat. Penguins suffer a lot from water pollution, oil
ice, penguin use tobogganing, lying on their stomach and sliding on ice using their flippers and feet
can be toxin and poisonous when it stays on the penguin. Penguins face many danger, they are eaten by
for propulsion. Because penguins walk slowly, tobogganing can also help them escape from
predators. Penguins can also bounce up to 5 feet. During the winter, penguin huddle in groups to
protects themselves against wind and cold (Lu, 2012). This helps them share body heat and give
them a better chance of survival because the birds change position.
Adelie Penguins, Macaroni Penguins, Chinstrap Penguins, African Penguins, Erect-crested Penguins,
Galapagos Penguins, Gentoo Penguins, Fiordland Penguins, Humboldt Penguins, Emperor Penguins,
King Penguins, Yellow-eyed Penguins, Little Blue Penguins, Magellanic Penguins, Rockhopper
Penguins, Royal Penguins, Snares Penguins, Fairy Penguins.
marine mammals such as seals, sea lions and orcas. They are safer on land but smaller penguins can be
attack by numbers of birds such as sea eagle. Skaus usually work in pairs, one will distract the penguin
and the other will snatch the egg. They don't really have any weapons to fight off predators. Larger
penguins have a better chance of getting away from certain predators.
Fordyce, R., & Ksepka, D. T. (2012). THE STRANGEST BIRD. Scientific American, 307(5), 56-61.
Halsey, L. (2002). Ultimate divers. Biologist, 49(4), 161.
Lu, Y., Tieyan, L., Bo, L., Yi, S., Jinfeng, C., Jinfeng, S., & ... Mingsheng, C. (2012). Modeling
Huddling Penguins. Plos ONE, 7(11), 1-8.
pennycook, J. Penguins 1 – skuas 0. Retrieved from
http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches/penguins-1-skuas-0/