When one thinks of Antarctic wildlife, penguins are often the first animals that come to mind. Indeed these graceful, yet comical, hardy, yet elegant creatures are considered by many to be the signature species of the polar south.  But, did you know that many penguin species live in temperate, even tropical climates? Although penguins are only found in the southern hemisphere,  believe it or not their habits are about diverse as any species on earth.  From the frozen Antarctic to the resort beaches of South Africa, to the jungles of New Zealand and rocky shores of South America, and all the way to the remote Galapogos Islands off the coast of Equador, penguins have adapted superbly to where ever the southern ocean currents have taken them. So enjoy this section devoted to the many penguin species and their fascinating characteristics. Early Antarctic explorers actually thought penguins were fish and classified them accordingly.  In fact, as birds, they are superbly designed for their job, flying, but not in the air, underwater and with great skill. Their compact bodies have a breastbone that makes an excellent keel, and they have massive paddle muscles to propel them at speeds up to 25 miles per hour. Their heads retract to create a perfect hydrodynamic shape. When traveling quickly, penguins will leap clear of the water every few feet -- an action called 'porpoising.' This enables them to breathe, and decreases their chances of being taken by a predator. Antarctic penguins have also developed the ability to leap out of the water to a substantial height on land, enabling them to quickly reach the safety of raised ice edges or rock ledges. Penguin legs are short and set far down on their bodies,  because of this they walk with a very erect posture and in most speices waddle.  Ashore they are often awkward, waddling or hopping over rocks; on snow they sometimes push themselves along on their stomachs to cover great distances. Of the 17 species of penguins, only four breed on the Antarctic continent itself: the Adelie, the Emperor, the Chinstrap and the Gentoo penguins. Many other species are found within the subantarctic regions which includes many coastal islands. Penguins are also found in all southern continents and as far north as the Galapagos Islands, straddling the Equator. Penguins are true flightless birds. Some species spend as much as 75% of their lives at sea, yet they all breed on land or sea-ice attached to land. To withstand the harsh conditions of the Antarctic, their bodies are insulated by a thick layer of blubber and a dense network of waterproof plumage. Penguins' bones are solid and heavy, which help them to remain submerged and reduce the energy needed for pursuit diving. Some species can reach depths of 1000 feet or more and stay submerged for up to 25 minutes, though most prefer shorter, shallower dives. Although many penguin species along the shores and beaches of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and South America are struggling and even endangered because of their proximity to human habitats.  Some penguin species in the sub-Antarctic and Antarctic are now enjoying a population boom. Their increasing numbers can be partly attributed to the over-fishing of baleen whales in the past which has resulted in a super-abundance of krill, a key species in the Antarctic ecosystem. In addition to krill, penguins feed heavily on fish, squid, and other small crustaceans. Penguins generally breed in large, dense colonies called 'rookeries', some with 180,000 or more birds. The sights, smells, and noise of one of these huge colonies are unforgettable. Most penguins build nests of stone and there they incubate one or two eggs. Adult pairs take turns incubating their eggs and feeding the chicks once they have hatched. Communication at these crowded rookeries can be very important not only in locating mates or offspring, but also in courting rituals or signalling danger. In addition to vocal signals, penguins also communicate by head and flipper waving, bowing, gesturing and preening. Natural enemies of the penguin include seals, Killer whales, and, in the case of young chicks and eggs, several species of seabirds. Healthy adult penguins have no predators on land, so they have no natural fear of humans. While they don't like to be approached directly, these naturally curious birds will sometimes come quite close to a quiet observer to get a better look.

Penguin Info For Kids

Penguins are Birds

Penguins are birds with black and white feathers and a funny waddle.  But unlike most birds, penguins are not able to fly -- in the air that is.  Penguins spend as much as 75% of their time underwater, searching for food in the ocean.  When they are in the water, they dive and flap their wings.  It looks just like they are flying!

Penguins are shaped like a torpedo.  Their body is built for the most efficient swimming with their average speed in the water being about 15 miles per hour.

Airborne Penguins

The only time penguins are airborn is when they leap out of the water.  Penguins will often do this to get a gulp of air before diving back down for fish.  Penguins cannot breathe underwater, though they are able to hold their breath for a long time.  They also use their ability to leap out of the water to get from the ocean onto land if there are cliffs or ice flows to deal with.

Temperature

Penguins spend a lot of time dealing with temperature.  They are warm blooded, just like people with a normal body temperature of about 100 degrees F.

So how do they stay warm in the cold places they live and in the icy cold waters?

Just like whales, penguins have a layer of fat under their skin called "blubber".  Overtop of this they are covered with fluffy "down" feathers and overtop of those they have their outer feathers which overlap to seal in warmth.  Penguins rub oil from a gland onto their feathers to help make them waterproof and windproof.

Dinner Time

Penguins eat seafood.  Their main diet is fish, though they'll also eat squid, small shrimplike animals called "krill" (see photo to the right) and crustaceans.

If you look closely at a penguin's bill you'll notice a hook at the end, perfect for grabbing dinner.  They also have backward facing bristles on their tongues that helps slippery seafood from getting away.

Penguins don't live near freshwater -- at least none that isn't frozen.  Instead they drink salt water.  They have a special gland in their bodies that takes the salt out of the water they drink and pushes it out of grooves in their bill.  A handy in-house filtration system!

Just a Boy and a Girl...

During the mating season penguins head for special nesting areas on the shore.  The area where penguins mate, nest and raise their chicks is called a "rookery".

When penguins are ready to mate, the male stands with his back arched and wings stretched.  He makes a loud call and struts about to attract a female.

When the penguins find a mate, they bond with each other by touching necks and slapping each other on the back with their flippers.  They also "sing" to each other so they learn to recognize each other's voices.

Once a penguin finds a mate, they usually stay together for years -- for as long as they have chicks.

Penguins don't jump, they BOUNCE!

Penguins don't live in the best habitats for finding nesting material, so they have to make do with what they can find.

Rockhopper penguins build their nests on steep rocky areas.  To get there, they hold both feet together and bounce from ledge to ledge (imagine Winnie the Pooh's Tigger with wings and you've got the idea).  These birds can bounce up to 5 feet!

Magellanic penguins dig burrows under the ground to form huge "cities" similar to gophers.

Adelies and chinstrap penguins use rocks to build their nests.  The perfect rock is a rare commodity for these birds.  They'll often fight over or steal each other's stones!

Penguin Chicks

As soon as the egg is laid (penguins lay one or two eggs at a time), the female dashes out for dinner, leaving the male to watch the nest.

When the female returns (it can take up to two weeks for her to come back) it's the male's turn to head out for food, leaving the female with the egg.

When the chick hatches, it immediately starts calling so that its parents will learn to recognize its voice.  

Penguin Predators

Penguins are a food source for a number of marine mammals, especially leopard seals.  These seals hide under ice flows and wait for their prey.  Other marine mammal predators are sea lions and orcas. 

The penguins aren't without protection though.  Their white bellies blend with the snow and sunlight making it difficult for an underwater predator to see them.  

Penguins are also eaten by a number of birds -- for example, the Australian sea eagle and the Skua.  The penguins black backs blend against the dark ocean water, making it more difficult to spot them from above.

Penguins also have a number of on-land predators like ferrets, cats, snakes, lizards, foxes and rats.

Playful Penguin Pastimes

Between staying warm, raising chicks, finding food and avoiding predators, a penguin's life may not sound like much fun.  But penguins have some playful pastimes -- many of which are surprisingly similar to human hobbies!

Tobogganing:  Penguins lie on their belly and toboggan through the ice and snow.  This helps them move quickly.

Surfing:  Penguins are often seen surfing through the waves onto land.

Penguin Habitat

There are 17 species of penguin, each slightly different.  Some of the species have nicknames which can cause people to think there are more than 17 species (for example the Little penguin is also known as the Blue penguin).

All of the species live in the Southern hemisphere.  Many live at the South Pole on Antarctica.  But some don't live in such cold places.  They are found on the coasts of South America, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the Galapagos Islands.

The Emperor penguin is the only species that breeds and nests in Antarctica through the frigid winter.

Adelie Penguins

Adelie penguins are the smallest of the Antarctic penguins.  One way to distinguish them from the other penguins is by their all black head and the white ring around their eye.

Adelie penguins were named after the wife of a French explorer in the 1830s.  They are about 2 feet tall and weigh 8 or 9 pounds.  Their diet is mainly fish.

Adelies build their nests of stones on the rocky beaches of Antarctica, jealously guarding and often fighting over the best rocks.

There are over 2.5 million breeding pairs living in Antarctica.  They live in groups of about 10,000 birds.

African Penguins

African penguins have a black upside down U-shape on their neck with black speckles on their chest.  They are about 2 feet tall and weigh between 7 and 11 pounds.

African penguins live and breed on the coast of South Africa.  People have hunted these penguins so much that their numbers declined from at least one million to about 150,000.  They are now a protected species, but are still caused trouble by oil spills off the coast of Africa.

African penguins are also known as the Blackfoot penguin.

Chinstrap Penguins

Chinstrap penguins get their name from the small black band that runs under their chin.  They are about 2 feet tall and weigh about 10 pounds.  They feed on krill and fish.

Chinstrap penguins are the most common penguins with a population of about 13 million.  They often live on large icebergs on the open ocean in the Antarctic region.

Emperor Penguins

Emperor penguins are the largest penguin species.  They are nearly 4 feet tall and weigh up to 90 pounds.  Those are BIG penguins!

Emperor penguins are easily identifiable by their size and the orange "glow" on their cheeks.

Emperor penguins live, year round, in the Antarctic. Temperatures can fall as low as -140 degrees Fahrenheit (-60 degrees Celsius).   Most penguin species lay two eggs at a time, but due to the difficulty of raising chicks in such a harsh climate, the Emperor penguin only lays one egg.

Most penguin species take turns warming the egg, but it's up to the Emperor penguin dads to do all the work once the egg is laid.  The male stands with the egg on his feet under a brood pouch (for warmth).  He does this for up to 9 weeks, without food, waiting for the chick to hatch.  During this time, the male may lose up to half its body weight.

Once the egg hatches, the female returns and the male heads out to the ocean to feed.

Galapagos Penguins

Penguins do not live in the wild in any location in the Northern Hemisphere.

The northern most colony of penguins are located in the Galapagos Islands.  The Galapagos Penguins can survive close to the equator because the Humboldt current brings cold waters to the islands from the Antarctic.

Gentoo Penguins

Gentoo penguins live on many of the islands of the Antarctic region but the main colony is on the Falklands.  They are about 3 feet tall and weigh about 13 pounds.  Their diet consists of krill and some small fish. 

Gentoo penguins are easily identifiable by the wide white stripe over the top of their head.  It runs from one eye to the other.

Gentoo penguins make nests on the inland grasslands.  They pile stones, grass and sticks to create a circular nest.  Like the Adelies and Chinstrap penguins, the Gentoo will also fight over stones for nesting.

King Penguins

The King penguin is the second largest penguin and looks somewhat like the Emperor penguin.  They are about 3 feet tall and weigh up to 35 pounds. 

King penguins have orange spots near their ears and on the neck.

King penguins mainly eat fish and some squid and crustaceans.  They are found on many sub-Antarctic islands including Crozet, Prince Edward , Kerguelen, South Georgia and Mazquarie Islands.

Like the Emperor penguin, the King penguin hatches only one chick at a time.  Their chicks have fuzzy brown feathers for about a year after they are born.

Macaroni Penguins

"Macaroni" used to be a hairstyle in England. (didn't you ever wonder why Yankee Doodle called the feather in his cap, "Macaroni"?  Now you know!)  The Macaroni penguins were so named because the yellow and black feathers sticking out of the side of their heads looked like and 18th century English hairstyle.  That's where the line "stuck a feather in his cap and called it Macaroni" in the song Yankee Doodle came from.

Magellanic Penguins

Magellanic penguins were named after the explorer Ferdinand Magellan who first saw them in 1519 on his first voyage around the tip of South America.

Magellanic penguins are about 2 feet, 3 inches tall and weigh 9 pounds.  They are the largest of the warm weather penguins. They live on the coast of the Argentina, Chile and the Falkland Islands.

During mating season, Magellanic penguins burrow, forming underground nesting colonies. 

Rockhopper Penguins

Similar to the Macaroni penguins, the Rockhopper penguins have decorative feather tufts on their heads -- theirs are yellow in color.

Their most unusual trait is their ability to hop from rock to rock to their nesting places.  They keep both feet together when hopping.  Using this method, they are able to hop up to four or five feet! 

Yellow-eyed Penguins

The yellow-eyed penguins have a band of yellow feathers going from the bill, circling the eyes and up around the head.

The yellow-eyed penguin lives on the coast of New Zealond.  It is the rarest of all penguins due to the deforestation of the New Zealand coastline and the introduction of new predatory species to the island.  There are only an estimated 1,500 breeding pairs of yellow-eyed penguins.

King Penguins Emperor Penguins Adelie Penguins Chinstrap Penguins Gentoo Penguins Little Blue Penguins White-Flippered Penguins Magellanic Penguins Humboldt Penguins Galapagos Penguins African Penguins Yellow Eyed Penguins Fiordland Penguins Snares Penguins Royal Penguins Macaroni Penguins