When I was three years old,
I fell in love with three small, painted, wooden penguins. My mother bought them
for me at a craft fair, and I've been spellbound by these black-and-white birds
ever since. Today, my house is filled with penguins ranging in form from stuffed
animals to figurines, dinnerware to bed sheets.
During the snowy season, penguins
are a popular sight as decorations. Considered
to be cold-climate animals, they are sometimes depicted with scarves on their
necks and hats on their heads. But how
much do you really know about these arguably adorable creatures?
The Fairy and the Emperor
Although several species have
become extinct over the years, there are currently about 18 species of penguins. The smallest full-grown penguin is the fairy
penguin (also know as the Little Blue), only reaching 16 inches tall and
weighing 2 pounds. The Emperor penguin,
reaching 90 pounds and 40 inches in height, is the largest.
All
penguins inhabit the Southern Hemisphere; there are no penguins above the
Equator. Most penguins live in Antarctica. Some, however, make their homes in warmer
climates, in places such as Australia,
New Zealand, South America,
and South Africa.
Because polar bears live at the North Pole, these animals never come into
contact with penguins – a common misconception.
Predators and Prey
Though technically birds, penguins
are unable to fly – at least in the traditional way. Penguin wings have been adapted
into flippers, and these birds are able to swim through the water with extreme gracefulness
and ease (as if they were actually flying through the water).
Penguins eat fish, krill,
squid, and other small sealife. Smaller
penguins in warmer climates are preyed upon by lizards and snakes. Cold climate
penguins have very few land predators (which is probably why they are so
friendly to explorers, since they do not have defensive instincts on land). Penguins in Antarctica
must avoid leopard seals in the water, however, since these larger animals pose
a significant threat.
Always Faithful
Penguins are monogamous
within a breeding season, but are known to "recouple" in various spans of time
depending on the individual species.
They tend to live in large colonies, from several hundred to several
hundred thousand pairs, making them very social animals.
In general, the female penguin
lays one or two eggs each year and the incubation period is shared between the
couple. While one penguin keeps the egg
safe and warm, its mate will feed at sea for days or weeks - and then return to
change shifts.
Dressed for the Occasion
With black and white
bodies, most penguins look like they're wearing a tuxedo. This seems especially
appropriate considering the bird's recent fame. Depicted in movies like March of the Penguins, Madagascar,
and Happy Feet (my personal
favorite), penguins have been getting quite the attention in recent years.
Linux even uses Tux, a simple penguin, as its mascot.
Hopefully,
this blog entry has corrected some misconceptions about penguins, and provided
some insights into animals that are often depicted around the holidays. The next
time you're at a zoo or see penguins on Animal
Planet, remember that they're some unique birds. Feel free, of course, to
continue to giggle at the way that they waddle.
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