Let’s find out about penguins!
The trademark of the handmade jewelry The Penguin, is the Penguin and as we celebrate World Penguin Day on April 25, we have collected everything you want to know about our most beloved creature in the world!
GENERAL INFORMATION
- The word penguin can be derived from: Spanish / Portuguese and means “thick” or from the Welsh word “pen gwyn”, which means “white head” or from the Latin word “pinguis” which means “thick” or from paraphrase of the word ‘pin-wing’ (pinioned wings) which means tied feathers.
- Penguins are seabirds. They have white and black color and funny walking with small steps.
- Penguins can be birds, but unlike most birds they can not fly.
- Penguins spend most of their lives (about 75%) underwater looking for food in the icy waters of the oceans. When they enter the water they flap their wings and look like they are flying…
- Penguins look like a torpedo . They are made so that they can swim in the best possible way and in fact their speed reaches 15 miles per hour.
- The only time penguins “fly” is when they jump out of the water. Penguins do this to take a breath before diving back into the water and continuing fishing. They also make jumps to get out of the water again on land in case there are rocks or small hills of ice.
- Penguins can not breathe underwater although they are able to hold their breath for a long time.
- Penguins spend a lot of time trying to cope with very low temperatures. Although they live on ice, their average temperature is the same as that of the human body. So they have to find ways to stay alive in the extremely low temperatures in which they live.
- Like whales, penguins have a very thick layer of fat under their skin. Above this layer they have a layer of fluffy feathers and on top they have another layer of feathers, which helps to seal the heat inside their body.
- Penguins also have an “oil” produced by a gland, which diffuses into their body and helps them stay “waterproof” and “windproof”.
- However, many times penguins need to find other ways to stay warm. So many come together and form large groups (maybe 5000 penguins), where they stand next to each other and thus keep warm.
FOOD:
- Penguins eat seafood . Their main food is fish, but they also eat squid, cuttlefish and a type of shrimp called “krill”.
- If we pay attention to their beak we will see that on the end it has something like a hook that makes it easier for them to catch their food. They also have hard hairs on their tongues that are placed upside down and help them to prevent seafood from slipping out of their mouths.
- The penguins where they live do not have drinking water. And if there is drinking water it is frozen. For this reason they have a gland in their body that separates the salt from the water they drink and leads it to their beak so that it comes out of their body. That is, they have their own filtration system!
MATCHING:
- During the mating season the penguins head to special areas near the shores. There the penguins mate, make nests and raise their young.
- When the penguins are ready to mate, the male stands with his back straight and his wings outstretched. He makes a loud call and walks proudly to attract the female.
- When the penguins find their match, they tie together by touching each other’s necks and hitting each other’s wings on each other’s backs. They also sing to their partner so that they learn to recognize each other’s voices.
- Most species of penguins, when mated, stay together for years and for as long as they can make penguins.
NESTS:
- Penguins do not live in areas with many materials to build their nests. So they have to be able to do it with whatever they can find.
- Some species of penguins build their nests in rocky areas. To get there they jump from rock to rock with their feet together. Other species of penguins build their nests underground and even build entire “cities” that resemble anthills.
- Other species build their nests with stones and in fact the perfect stone is very important for these penguins. For this reason they often quarrel with each other over a stone or steal each other’s stone.
PENGUINS
- As soon as the female lays the egg, she leaves it to the male to look after it and the female leaves to find food. Each penguin lays a maximum of 1 egg at a time.
- When the female returns from the food search (which can take up to 2 weeks), it is the male’s turn to look for food and it is up to the female to look after the nest and the egg.
- As soon as it comes out of the egg, the penguin immediately starts shouting so that its parents can learn its voice and recognize it.
- When the penguin gets strong enough, both parents leave at the same time to find food in the ocean. The penguins are left alone in groups. When parents return with the food they recognize who their child is by voice and feed him.
RISKS
- Penguins are food for various marine mammals and especially for some species of whales, which hide under pieces of ice and wait for the penguins to appear to attack them.
- To protect the penguins they have the white color on their bellies which becomes one with the snow and makes it difficult for someone to see the penguin.
- Penguins are also food for some birds, such as the Australian Sea Eagle. The black back of the penguins, however, becomes one with the dark waters of the ocean and it is very difficult for someone to see the penguin from above.
- Penguins also have terrestrial enemies such as ferrets, cats, snakes, foxes and rats.
TOYS
- In addition to trying to stay warm, raise their young to find food and avoid danger, penguins have a great time and their life is fun! In fact, many of their games are similar to those of humans.
- They glide in the snow! The penguins lie on the snow with their bellies and slide like a sleigh! This in addition to playing helps them move very fast.
- Another game they play is surfing in the ocean!
ITEMS
Today it is estimated that there are 17 to 19 species of penguins. Although all live in the Southern Hemisphere, not all species live in icy Antarctic climates. In fact, one species lives in the Galapagos Islands near Ecuador. It is estimated that 11 of the 17 species are endangered.
Emperor Penguin ( Aptenodytes forsteri )
Adelie Penguin ( Pygoscelis adeliae )
King Penguin ( Aptenodytes patagonicus )
Little Blue Penguin ( Eudyptula minor )
Rockhopper Penguin Eudyptes
Yellow-eyed Penguin ( Megadyptes antipodes )
Royal Penguin ( Eudyptes schlegeli )
African Penguin ( Spheniscus demersus )
Chinstrap Penguin ( Pygoscelis antarcticus )
Gentoo Penguin ( Pygoscelis papua )
Galapagos Penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus)
Humboldt Penguin (Spheniscus humboldti)
Erect-crested Penguin (Eudyptes sclateri)
Macaroni Penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus)
Fiordland Penguin (Eudyptes pachyrhynchus)
Snares Penguin (Eudyptes robustus)
Magellanic Penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus)