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Penguin
Common name: Penguins

Scientific name: Spheniscidae

Diet: Carnivorous

Group name: Colony

Average life span: 15-20 years

Size: 38-114 centimeters

Weight: 1-40 kilos

Penguins are a symbol of romance and spend their whole lives
together. They take care of their eggs equally, breed and fight together
for the survival of their offspring. Despite being separated during the
winter, they are one of the most faithful couples in the animal kingdom.
When they find their mate, they return to their home to establish a
lifelong relationship.
They are so romantic that when another penguin tries to seduce their
mate, they are capable of fighting a duel for her. They have a very
peculiar ritual and together, after mating, they take care of the eggs.
Penguins are flightless seabirds that live almost exclusively below
the equator. Some island dwellers can be found in warmer climates, but
most, including the emperor penguin, chinstrap penguin, adelie
penguin and gentoo penguin, reside in and around frozen Antarctica.
Their thick layer of blubber and tight oily feathers are ideal for colder
temperatures.
The 18 different species of penguins can vary in shape and size, but all
have black bodies and white bellies. This protective counter-
shading allows them to hide from predators such as leopard seals and
killer whales while swimming.
Although penguins cannot fly, their stiff flippers, webbed feet and
graceful shape make them expert swimmers. In fact, they spend
most of their lives in the ocean and do most of their hunting for krill,
squid and crabs underwater. They can swim at about 24 kilometers
per hour, and when they want to go faster, they often porpoise or
jump out of the water while swimming.

On land, penguins have an upright posture and tend to walk,

hop or run with their bodies bent forward. Polar penguins can
travel long distances quickly by "sledding," or sliding across the ice
upside down and pushing forward with their feet. If it is very cold, they
huddle together in large colonies that protect them from predators and
provide warmth. These colonies consist of thousands, even millions, of
penguins.
Breeding
Penguins come ashore to lay their eggs and care for their young. Most
penguins stay with their mate for many years and only lay
one or two eggs at a time. The parents take turns keeping the eggs
warm and, when they hatch, feed and protect their young. For a few
weeks each year, thousands of hatchlings wait together while their
parents forage for food. When the mother and father return, the
hatchlings hear the unique audio frequency of their parents' call,
allowing them to gather in a large, noisy crowd.
Shortly after the young fledge, the parents will begin the molting
period. Unlike some birds that lose a few feathers at a time, penguins
lose all their feathers at once during a process called
catastrophic molt. They condense this process to just a few weeks
because they must fast during this time; they cannot hunt without their
waterproof feathers.
Conservation and threats
About two-thirds of penguin species are listed as threatened on the
IUCN Red List, making them one of the most endangered
seabirds. Habitat loss, disease and infections spread by tourists are
emerging as threats. Commercial fishing in the Southern Ocean is also
a major concern, as it has reduced the fish supply by half on the
Antarctic Peninsula. This forces many penguins to compete for food
and puts them at risk of being accidentally caught in fishing nets.

One of the biggest threats to penguin populations is climate

change. Warming in the polar regions has melted sea ice, which
penguins depend on to find food and build nests. Rapidly changing
climate conditions mean that Antarctica could lose most of its penguins
by the end of the century. To survive, they may have to move to new
habitats.