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Penguins

Page history last edited by Broemer, Elijah 15 years, 1 month ago

 

Penguins

By: Eli

 

 

Introduction

 

            There’s a lot to know about penguins, and most people don’t know much about them. Like in some comics penguins will interact with polar bears, when they actually live on opposite ends of the planet. When people think of a penguin they commonly think of the Emperor penguin, but there are actually 17 different kinds of penguins, all spread out through the southern hemisphere. Some, like the Galapagos even live near the equator. Even though the Emperor penguin, near the South Pole, endures the harshest weather of all animals. And you won’t believe how many threats there are to penguins, which is probably why there are over 30 extinct different kinds of penguin.

 

General Information

 

            Penguins are flightless aquatic birds located in the Southern Hemisphere. They live half their life on land, and half their life at sea. Their diet consists mostly of krill, fish and squid. They have the most efficient shape of any animal or man-made design. The penguin is related to the Waimanu and the Great Auk, which are both now extinct. Penguins are popular in pop culture because of their upright waddling movement and they lack fear of humans. There’s even a hockey team called the Pittsburgh Penguins. And penguins are the most social of all birds; they usually feed and breed in large groups, some with thousands of penguins.

 

Characteristics

 

            Most penguins have large heads, long bodies, and a short neck. A wedged tail help balance penguins, and flattened flippers are used for swimming. They are usually identified by their long beaks, which are hooked depending on the type of penguin to help catch food. Penguins have excellent insulation with about 70 feathers per sq. inch. And the only un-insulated part of their body is their webbed feet. Those black and white feathers also provide excellent camouflage from predators. When underwater, from above their black feathers blend in with the deep ocean, and from below, their white-feathered belly blends in with the sky above. The dark feathers on a penguin’s back also absorb heat from the sun, helping warm them in the cold.

These feathery birds are also talented swimmers, and divers. Underwater a penguin can reach up to 17 mph, with dives usually lasting less than two minutes. They can hold their breath for up to 15 minutes if needed. The deepest dive recorded for a penguin was over 1800 feet down, in a little over 22 minutes.

They don’t swim everywhere though, on land penguins usually waddle side to side, or slide on their bellies and push with their feet. This is called ‘tobogganing’. This method is an energy saver because they don’t have to support all their weight, even though they have strong legs and feet. Penguins are supposed to have normal hearing, and normal smelling senses. Though they are nearsighted on land because of their eyes adapted for water, and they have a poorly developed sense of taste.

 

 

 

History

 

            The first penguin was spotted in 1848 near New Zealand. They received their name from the Welsh words pen (white), and gwyn (head). The name penguin in Latin is translated to pinguis literally meaning fat. Also in other languages penguin means ‘fat bird’ or ‘the fat one’. Prehistoric penguins are believed to have lived in the same general area of present-day penguins. There have been 32 extinct fossils found by scientists that had died out when the population of whales and sea lions rose. The first penguin had lived 23-34 million years ago. Penguins usually live to be 15-20. The oldest recorded penguin in the wild was 24, and the oldest penguin in captivity lived to be 40. In the 19th and 20th centuries penguin skins and feathers were used to make caps, slippers, purses, and mattress stuffing.

            Penguins are related to another flightless sea bird called the Waimanu. The Waimanu was discovered on Canterbury, New Zealand. The name comes from the Maori word for waterbird.

 

Habits

 

            Penguins have many habits, like sleeping with their head under one flipper to stay warm. Another way penguins stay warm is they will keep their flippers close to their bodies. They also swim and feed in groups or colonies. Penguins can control their body heat too, which should usually be around 100°. They can do this by moving into the shade, or Emperor penguins have adapted nostrils that let out minimal air to help conserve heat. Penguins also have habits specific to a certain species of penguin, like how Emperor penguins huddle together and rotate positions so everybody has some warmth. And penguins closer to the equator may burrow into the ground to avoid predators, and build nests out of small stones and grass. Whereas Emperor penguins don’t build nests at all.

Penguin Species

 

            There are supposed to be 17 different kinds of penguins. Though there are many variations of some penguins, the ‘official’ number of types of penguin is debatable. The largest penguin is the Emperor, and the smallest is the Little Blue, which also has the shortest breeding season. Penguins have gotten their names usually from the way they look. For example the Emperor and King penguins got their name because they are the largest of all penguins. And the Macaroni penguin got it’s name from the way 19th and 20th century men dressed, all fancy with feathers in their hats. Magellanic penguins got their name from Ferdinand Magellan who first spotted them in 1518. Rockhopper penguins got their name from the way they hop from rock to rock. And Chinstrap penguins got their name from a little black band near their ‘chin’. Chinstraps are sometimes called Stonecrackers because of their loud calls. The Chinstrap has the largest population with about 12 million penguins.

Some penguins like the Galapagos, are able to survive close to the equator, this is because they don’t have many feathers on their face so they won’t overheat. On the other hand, some penguins that live in the coldest climate of any other animal such as the Adelie and Emperor penguin aren’t even kept in captivity because of the freezing temperatures they live in.

Some penguins are grouped into categories based on some physical characteristics they have. These groups are Banded, and Crested. Banded penguins are known for having a black band across their chests. Penguins included in this group are Humboldt, Magellanic, African, and Galapagos. Crested is a group of penguins that are known for their yellow crests on their heads. Penguins in this group are Macaroni, Rockhopper, Fiordland, Erect-Crested and Snares.

 

The Chick and the Egg

 

            During breeding season, large colonies of penguins are formed, called rookeries. It’s also common for males to fight over females during breeding season. They’ll hit each other with their flippers until one penguin gives up. Although fighting among King penguins doesn’t happen often.

            Most penguins lay two eggs at a time, but Emperor and King penguins only lay one. While one penguin goes to sea for food, the other mate incubates the egg. During incubation the mate may fast for 90-120 and will lose 43% of their body fat. The incubation times vary for the different kinds of penguins, but the mate and chick still have to await the return of the other mate for food. Sometimes a penguin may leave their egg or chick to get food, and the egg or chick most likely will freeze. If a penguin loses their egg, they will attempt to steal an egg from another parent.

It can take up to 3 days for a chick to hatch out of it’s egg, after that they may assemble in groups for protection from predators. A chick will stay with their parent for as little as 7 weeks, or as long as 13 months depending on the species. To help find their chick, penguins have specific calls; they will learn each other’s and listen for them.

 

Threats

 

            More and more penguins have been disappearing mostly because of the increasing number of sea lions in the ocean, and oil spills. Oil spills cause a lot of damage. Penguins always breed and live on land because they’re free of most predators there. Although the penguin still has many predators; they include, sea lions, leopard seals, petrels, sheathbills, skuas, fur seals, sharks, killer whales, snakes, feral dogs, and some cats will eat eggs. Penguins are easily startled and a plane flying overhead can cause panic, which predators will take advantage of. The only threatened penguins are the Yellow Eyed and Galapagos. The Yellow Eyed population has gone down 40% in the last 40 years. Though penguins are protected from hunting and egg collection, they still are under attack by man. Oil from spills can get into a penguins plumage and destroys all insulation they have. It’s next to impossible for a penguin to survive in the wild without insulation. Pollution is another problem for penguins. They can ingest plastic, which will suffocate them. And fishers can hurt a penguins diet, which consists only of sea food, like fish and squid.  El Nino is also a big threat to penguins. The warm heat removes nutrients from them and can cause overheating. In 1992 El Nino left only a little over 400 Galapagos penguins alive. This is one of the main reasons Galapagos penguins are now endangered.

 

Conclusion

 

            With all these threats to penguins, hopefully we don’t lose anymore. They are a big part of the food chain in the south. And with their lack of fear for humans, they’re one of the friendliest animals on the planet.

 

Bibliography

 

"Penguin" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 19 Feb 2009, 00:30 UTC. 19th Feb, 09 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Penguin&oldid=271702768>.

 

“Penguins” Seaworld Education Department Resource. 18th Feb, 09

http://www.seaworld.com/infobooks/penguins/home.html

 

Penguins By Lisa Purcell Published by Hylas 2007

 

Comments (1)

Price, Brittany said

at 9:00 am on Mar 6, 2009

great work. thanks for updating on time. I'm just helping mr.kabodian

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