the Kids Guide to Animals: The Penguin

Did you know...

…that scientists recently discovered a secret penguin technology that helps them zoom through water? Find out about it on pages 6 & 7!

…that some penguins search for days to give their mates a kind of engagement ring? Find out more on pages 8 & 9!

….that penguins gather in groups so large that evidence of them can be seen from space? See for yourself on pages 12 & 13!

…that penguins are known as mesopredators? See why this unique classification makes protecting them more challenging on pages 18 & 19!

waddle, but don’t let their amusing antics fool you. The penguin is one of Earth’s most sophisticated creatures, and with that feathery tuxedo, some of them certainly look the part! The penguin has more than just good looks going for it. It’s one of only ten species of flightless birds, like ostriches and emus. While those others can make tracks on land, the penguin’s one-of-a-kind design makes it flip-out fast under water.

Penguins don’t have many natural predators aside from leopard seals and killer whales, and when these get too close, a cool collection of seagoing skills help keep the penguin out of harm’s way. That said, human activities such as commercial fishing, pollution, and oil exploration have, wreaked havoc on penguin populations and habitats.

75% of their lives in water. To help with this lifestyle, the precious and sometimes portly penguin sports a streamlined shape, unique flippers, lush layers of fine feathers, and floppy feet. This incredible combination of form and function makes these buoyant birds expert swimmers. Some are able to move faster than most boats and others can dive deeper than a state-of-the-art submarine.

On land, penguins are super social. They’re great in groups, carefully raise their chicks, keep each other warm, and often choose one mate for life. They live in colonies the size of cities and can survive sub-zero temperatures. It’s no wonder the penguin is one of the world’s most fascinating and beloved birds. They even have their own day; April 25th is World Penguin Day.

Famous Penguins

Aside from the villainous Penguin of the Batman franchise, our famous, feathered friends are well represented in books, games, tv shows, and movies. Chilly Willy was a favorite cartoon character from the 1950s, and the National Hockey League team in Pittsburgh is named The Penguins. Look no further than The Penguins of Madagascar and the Happy Feet movies for more recent penguin personalities!

LOCATION

While there is some debate, most researchers agree on 17 species of penguin. They can be found from the frigid Antarctic Ocean to the southern coastal areas of Africa, South America, Australia, and New Zealand. Penguins are also found all along the west coast of South America, and all the way north to the famous Galapagos Islands.

EXPLORER’S TIP!

Think all penguins like it cold? The Galapagos Islands are sub-tropical!

Penguin Habitat

CONSERVATION

Once sought after for their flammable fat and other useful body oils, some penguin species were hunted to near extinction. Thankfully, they have recovered. Unfortunately, other species are still vulnerable due to over-fishing, oil exploration, and coastal development.

The New Zealand Yellow-Eyed Penguin and the Galapagos Penguin are highly endangered, with their populations plummeting to just a few thousand adult individuals.

A huge concern for penguin habitats is ocean pollution, which threatens penguin food supplies and interferes with migration.

Climate changes and damage to delicate coastal ecosystems endanger critical breeding grounds that penguins need to raise their young.

Penguins are carnivores, surviving on a diet of small fish, krill, and squid. Birds and animals that eat only fish are known as piscivorous.

Penguins are polyphasic sleepers, meaning they grab naps whenever they need a break. They are somewhat nocturnal or more active after sunset, which makes sense as they need to keep moving on the cold nights.

Penguins are highly social creatures, even while swimming, breeding, and hanging out together. A group of penguins in the water is called a raft. On land? Not surprisingly, they are called a waddle!

Penguins vary in size and weight depending on the species. Their height can range from 15 inches to nearly four feet. That means their weight can be anywhere from two pounds to almost 100 pounds!

Peaceful, Protective, and a Little Puzzling!

Many scientists estimate that the earliest penguin fossils date to more than 60 million years ago. That would mean that the penguin species is as old as the dinosaurs!

16th-century northern explorers named them Great Auks, after a northern bird that looked similar…but here’s where the fun begins…

The name “penguin” is equally puzzling. Some believe it originates from the Welsh words for the head, “pen,” and white, “Gwyn.” Why is this so puzzling? Because most penguins are the reverse, with darker colored heads and lighter bodies.

Ready for another paradox? Unlike most mammals, the penguin can drink seawater. A special gland behind their eyes called the supraorbital gland filters out the salt! So, how do they get rid of the salt? They sneeze it out!

The peaceful penguin can be very trusting of humans. You can usually walk up to one, which makes sense as most penguin predators don’t walk; they swim.

Penguins hunt, gather, and mate in huge numbers, sometimes hundreds of thousands at a time. That’s like the population of an entire city moving at once!

IT’S FEATHER WEATHER

Sure, penguins are commonly found in the Antarctic, but did you know that many species don’t spend much time in the ice and snow? Only two, the large Emperor Penguin and the much smaller Adélie call the icy land of Antarctica home. These baffling birds can withstand temperatures of -70 icy wind gusts that can push near 100 miles per hour. Unprotected by huge coats and coverings, those temperatures would kill a human in minutes.

Now you may be wondering how these penguins stay warm with all that ice around. Well, Emperor Penguins, for example, have super-dense and layered feathers that help keep the heat in and the cold out, but that’s only part of their secret penguin powers. With 100o body temperatures and so many penguins, they huddle together to stay warm.

Many penguins also have the astonishing ability to push blood around their bodies almost at will. This gets cold blood warm and spreads warmer blood to cold body parts!

When in the hot sun or after exertion, penguins also pant like dogs to cool down.

FUN, FLIPPY, AND READY

TO FROLIC

You’ve probably seen penguins diving onto their bellies and “tobogganing” themselves across the ice. They do this because it’s faster than waddling along, though many researchers also think they do it just for fun! And while swimming along, some penguins can also muster up a combination of momentum and air bubbles tucked into their waterproof feathers. They can ruffle those feathers and release bubble burst to help propel them through and out of the water at just the right moment.

The Chinstrap Penguin gets its name from the thin black line under its chin. Huddling by the thousands, you might think they’re just trying to start a huge football team!

TIME TO MATE BIRDS OF A FEATHER HUDDLE TOGETHER! PENGUIN LOVE SONGS?

Penguins use specific tones and vocalizations that only their mates can recognize. It’s like having a favorite song or calling out a specific name. King Penguins prefer duets, singing

breeding season runs from the fall into early winter when conditions can get pretty harsh, penguins team up to help each other out.

First comes the long trip to the penguin breeding grounds where those big webbed feet come into play. Turns out those rudderlike feet are not just great for swimming. On land, these brightly colored kicks act like large snowshoes. That means they are incredibly well-designed to trek across ice and snow. This is critical as some species of penguins, such as the Emperor, can march as far as 60 miles from the sea to their nesting areas!

In most species, penguins choose their mates for life. During the year, they can get separated by hundreds of miles, yet when returning to the breeding grounds, families can find each other, even in a moving sea of a hundred thousand birds! How do they do it?

readyWho’sto rock?!?

PENGUINS CAN BE REAL CHARMERS!

The third-largest penguin species, the Gentoo, nests in the sub-antarctic islands. This means less ice and a little more rock where they start their families. To attract a mate, these flirty fowls take advantage of their surroundings by gifting stones and pebbles to the objects of their affections. The females then take these gifts to build their burrows or nests in large, group breeding areas called rookeries.

Gentoos

Most penguin moms lay two eggs in their burrows or nests. Emperor and King penguins lay just one and drop that right on the ice and snow. These moms keep their eggs warm using a unique flap of skin called a brood pouch takes a month or more for the eggs to hatch, and penguin chicks are born covered with adorable fuzzy down. The problem is that it’s not waterproof, so they have to stay out of the ocean until new feathers grow.

FLIP A FACT!

Famous Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan was the first to see penguins along the coast of South America in 1520. This is how the Magellanic Penguin got its name!

can spend hours or days looking for that perfect rock. It’s like a penguin

As you can guess by its name, the Little Blue Penguin is the shortest penguin around. Found in Australia and New Zealand, this wonderful waddler is just 16 inches tall!

THE PENGUIN AN EXPERT’S BRIEFING

Did you know that the size of the average penguin colony can range from 200,000 to 500,000 individual birds? After counting all those penguins, you’d think that scientists would be pretty pooped. Well, that’s more true than you might think. Scientists use aerial and satellite images to find and count penguin colonies. Why satellites? Because that many penguins so close together make a LOT of poop, and those giant, dark patches of frozen poop can be seen from space!

ALL DRESSED UP

PLACES TO GO!

WITH

Even though penguins look like they’re dressed for a fancy party, they still spend most of their day preening or grooming their feathers to keep them air-tight and waterproof. They do this by spreading oil from a special gland near their tails. Like many bird species, penguins lose all their feathers in an event called a catastrophic molt. It takes the penguins out of the water and away from food for two to three weeks, so before the molt, they eat more to fatten up.

WHY PENGUINS ARE IN DANGER

Pollution, over-fishing, and oil spills along the South American coast have hurt penguin populations and breeding grounds. Oil spills off the coast of Argentina have killed over 40,000 adult and juvenile Magellanic penguins in a

Changes to our climate also mess with ocean and coastal temperatures, especially in the Antarctic, where some of the largest penguin species breed. A key factor here is the food chain.

Penguins love a tiny shrimp called krill. Krill love certain phytoplankton called algae. Algae lives on the ice. Less ice means less algae, meaning less food for krill, meaning less krill for penguins.

Well-meaning restrictions on whale and seal hunting mean more of both are out there to eat krill and attack penguins. Sadly, sometimes, we can make situations worse while

A DEEP DIVE INTO SOME POTENT PENGUIN POWERS

Unlike flying birds with hollow bones, penguins have solid ones. The extra weight helps them dive deep in the water. Penguins like the Emperor can hold their breath for over 20 minutes and dive to a depth of nearly 2,000 feet. That’s deeper than our best submarines.

Penguins can shut down parts of their bodies and slow their hearts to just a few beats a minute to survive these deep dives.

Penguins have no teeth. Instead, they have ridges and spines on their beaks and tongues that act like hooks to catch and hold fish and krill.

The penguin’s “tuxedo” is an amazing camouflage called countershading; it makes the penguin harder to see from underneath, confusing predators like the leopard seal and killer whale. Is

poop to help build their nests!

that a penguin?

Penguins are known as mesopredators because they are in the middle of the food chain. While some other animals hunt them, they hunt others. Can you identify which animals here are predators or prey of the penguin? See if your answers add up below.

See pages 18-19 for the answers.

Slide down the icy path, over and under obstacles and bridges to help your new penguin friend catch up to his penguin family and share a tasty fish treat! If you need help, just follow the musical notes of the penguin song!

PENGUIN CONSERVATION

Being a species that returns to the same fixed areas of water and coast means penguins exist in a relatively small ecosystem. This means minor disruptions or changes can have farreaching and endangering effects.

Penguins populations are under pressure from four primary sources:

Climate-based disruption of habitats and food supplies. Human expansion and pollution. Fishing and other industrial activities. Human efforts to help other species.

TAKING CARE OF THE KIDS!

Changes in climate don’t only threaten winter breeding grounds; increased rainfall or drought can severely affect inland rookeries. Because they aren’t waterproof for the first month of life, the damp ground can make baby penguins sick from harmful parasites like fleas and ticks. In addition to seagulls, penguin chicks have other predators on land. Seabirds such as the Giant Petrel and the Skua can swoop down and grab unprotected chicks.

As penguins rely on other penguins for preening or grooming areas around their necks and heads, drought or weather changes can force adult penguins away from the nest for more extended periods to search for food. This leaves chicks more exposed to fleas and ticks, and these parasites can drink enough of their blood to make these babies dangerously anemic.

Changing Climate Commercial

Fishing

Overfishing reduces some food sources, increasing competition for others.

Climate Engineering

Human activities such as protecting certain species can accidentally help those predators kill penguins.

Changes in climate damages breeding grounds and food supplies.

CONSERVATION EFFORTS

The biggest threat to penguins used to be commercial hunting. For centuries, humans and penguins coexisted until penguins became big business due to the commercial use of their feathers, meat, body oils, and fats.

Pollution

Oil spills threaten penguin colonies and food supplies.

Today, penguins are legally protected in much of the world, especially in Antarctica. Sadly, more than half of penguin species are currently red listed as extremely vulnerable or endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

And while there are sizable penguin populations in zoos throughout the world, zoo life is very stressful for all animals, especially penguins. They are used to

DOING OUR PART FOR THE PENGUIN

Protecting the penguin is a highly complex task. Several environmental challenges are involved, and the penguin’s unique position in the food chain makes matters even more delicate.

What can we do to help?

As you can imagine, penguin conservation is a huge undertaking. Penguins spend much of their time in the sea. They breed in remote locations and often live under harsh weather conditions. Additionally, penguins are spread all over the Southern Hemisphere and live in several countries, each with its own pollution and fishing issues and government regulations!

Answer Key

Penguins are known as mesopredators because they are in the middle of the food chain. While some other animals hunt them, they hunt others. Can you identify which animals here are predators or prey of the penguin?

See if your answers add up below!

PENGUINS

INTERNATIONAL

Environmental biologist, nature photographer, and filmmaker David Schutt founded Penguins International to help protect penguins worldwide.

Penguins International’s stated mission is to “actively engage in penguin conservation, educate the public on threats to penguins, and conduct scientific research investigations; three activities that go handin-hand to fully understand these amazing species of birds and protect them for all to cherish.”

focuses on the following areas:

Partnerships with international conservation efforts such as the Tawaki Project to help the Fiordland Penguin.

Support and participate in marine cleanup efforts to save breeding grounds on the Falkland Islands and South Georgia Island.

Increased monitoring of penguin colonies and research into migration and colony sizes and changes.

Penguin educator programs to build awareness through school curriculums.

for Activities Page

Direct help in the form of specially designed nest boxes in areas where delicate penguin breeding grounds and behaviors have been affected.

Promotion and creation of penguin media projects, including documentary films and tv series.

For more information on PenguinsInternational, please visit their site at: penguinsinternational.org

Penguins are lovable, caring parents and one of Earth’s most unique species. They’re dressed for success so let’s do our part to keep the party going!

Slide down the icy path, over and under obstacles and bridges to help your new penguin friend catch up to his penguin family and share a tasty fish treat! If you need help, just follow the musical notes of the penguin song! 15