Today is World Penguin Day! But hang on, what is World Penguin Day? I’m so very glad you asked! Let me explain.
What is World Penguin Day?
World Penguin Day is a day dedicated to our favourite waddling flightless friends. It is celebrated every year on April 25th and is meant to raise awareness of these highly intelligent and very social birds, as well as the threats they face in the wild. So, grab your flippers and prepare to dive into the wonderful world of penguins as we explore 18 facts about these incredible birds.
1. There are 18 species of Penguins!
You may have been wondering why I chose the number 18 instead of 10 or 5. Well, it’s because there are 18 species of penguin! I know, it’s a lot, right? Below is a list of the 18 species.
- King Penguin
- Emperor Penguin
- Gentoo Penguin
- Adelie Penguin
- Chinstrap Penguin
- Southern Rockhopper Penguin
- Northern Rockhopper Penguin
- Fiordland Penguin
- Snares Penguin
- Erect-Crested Penguin
- Macaroni Penguin
- Royal Penguin
- Yellow-eyes Penguin
- Little Penguin
- African Penguin
- Humboldt Penguin
- Magellaninc Penguin
- Galapagos Penguin
And there you have it, that is all 18 species of recognised Penguin. How many did you know?
2. Not all Penguins live in cold climates
When reading the list above, you may have thought your eyes were deceiving you, but I can assure you they work just fine. There are indeed penguins in Africa, and the Galapagos (which is near the equator), and New Zealand, as well as Chile! Contrary to popular belief, only 4 of the 18 Penguin species are true ‘cold weather’ residents who live in Antarctica; the other 14 live in temperate zones, who would have thought?
3. Penguins can’t fly, but they sure can jump!
These birds may be flightless, but that doesn’t stop them from taking to the air. Depending on the species, penguins (such as the Adelie Penguin) can jump up to 6 feet high from standing, which is around a metre high! Whilst already impressive, if you consider their size, it is a feat of epic proportions. For humans to even match that, we would need to jump 15 – 20 feet high from a standing position!
4. Penguins don’t just jump, they dive, too.
All Penguins are incredible divers, but chief amongst them is the Emperor Penguin, which can dive over 500 metres (that’s 1640 feet)! They are the world’s deepest diving birds and can stay underwater for 30 minutes!
5. Penguins have teeth…sort of.
Ok, so Penguins don’t have teeth, but they do have backwards-facing spikes made of keratin (the same thing our hair and nails are made of) that allow them to grab onto slippery fish. Pretty neat, huh?
6. Penguins have very unique eyes.
The cornea of a Penguin’s eye is flatter than ours, which stops light from bending when they dive into the water. This allows them to see clearly when they’re swimming, which is essential for them to catch fish and escape predators.
7. Penguins use a special type of camouflage.
Ever wondered why Penguins are black and white? Well, it’s because they utilise a very special type of camouflage called ‘counter-shading’. You would think black and white would be pretty easy to see, but most of a Penguin’s predators are ambush predators and will sometimes try to strike them from beneath. That’s where the white comes in handy; when a Penguin’s predator looks up, they can get a little confused as the Penguin’s underbelly blends in with the sky, making them difficult to see. If a predator tries to strike them from above, then their black colouring blends in with the darkness of the ocean’s depth.
8. Penguins use oil to help them swim
The preening you see Penguins do isn’t just to keep their feathers neat, it is to spread oil they secrete from special glands around their feathers. This oil is essential to their swimming; it keeps them warm, waterproof, and helps them glide through the water.
9. Penguins go through a ‘Catastrophic Moult’
Once a year, usually during Summer or early Autumn, Penguins shed their feathers… all of them… at once. The reason being that over time, they wear down their feathers, which in turn stops their feathers from being effective in holding oil and keeping them warm. If their feathers can’t hold oil, then they can’t swim, and if they can’t keep warm, then they can’t survive their harsh climates, and so they go through an intense period of moulting where they get rid of all their feathers all at once and replace them with a fresh coat. The process isn’t particularly pleasant and forces them to remain on land for a few weeks; however, once it’s over, they look silky and brand new.
10. Penguins are incredible swimmers
Penguins are fantastic swimmers, with the Gentoo Penguin being chief amongst them; they can swim as fast as 22mph! They may look funny and cute on land when they’re waddling, but they are incredibly graceful underwater. They may not fly in the air, but they certainly fly underwater.
11. Dogs wag their tails, and Penguins jump out of the water.
The jumping out of the water you see Penguins do is called ‘porpoising’, and it’s not only done to help them breathe, they also porpoise when they’re happy or excited.
12. The spottier the better
Some species of Penguins, such as the Humboldt Penguin, have spots on their belly, and scientists have learned that the spottier a Penguin is, the more attractive they are.
13. Penguin bones are peculiar
Unlike other bird species, Penguins have solid bones instead of hollow bones. This allows them to cope with their incredibly deep dives.
14. Penguins have the best group names.
A group of Penguins in the water is called a raft, and a group of Penguins on land are called a waddle!
15. Penguins are incredible walkers
Despite their adorable and accurate group name ‘waddle’, Penguins are incredibly good walkers, with many known to walk very far to reach their nests. In fact, Emperor Penguins have been known to walk 60 miles to reach their nesting grounds.
16. The love language of some Penguins is gift giving!
Penguins, such as the Chinstrap Penguin, give rocks to females during the courting season. The female penguins then build nests with the rocks, which are essential for keeping any potential eggs warm. The ‘pebble proposal’, which is the name this act is known by, helps a male penguin prove his worth to his partner.
17. A very unique call
Unlike other Penguins, Fiordland Penguins sound like braying Donkeys and honk at each other when they’re out at sea.
18. They can jump, they can swim, they can dive, and they can hear exceptionally well.
Penguins live in very, very large colonies (some have 1 million adults!) Despite this, they can pick out the unique calls of their chick and partner even after months apart.
So, there you have it! 18 facts for 18 species of Penguins on World Penguin Day. These are incredible birds that are incredibly intelligent, very cute, and very graceful at the same time. They have held a cherished place in societies across the world for a very long time, gracing our screens and books for decades.
Unfortunately, of the 18 species of Penguins, three species are listed as near threatened, five are listed as vulnerable, and five are endangered. The most endangered Penguin species is the Yellow-eyed Penguin of New Zealand, which faces decline due to the overfishing of Red Cod, making them more susceptible to things like disease, which is another key threat to the species. Another highly threatened Penguin species is the Emperor Penguin, which many came to know through the loveable Mumble of Happy Feet.
The reality of us living in a world without Penguins draws nearer, but we still have time to ensure that doesn’t happen! Here are some ways you and your family can help out our waddling friends:
- If you have a show-and-tell presentation coming up at school, you could do it about Penguins and tell your classmates about how cool they are, but also the threats they face.
- If you’re a big fan of seafood, try to make sure it is sustainably sourced. If it doesn’t say it is sustainably sourced outright, you can usually tell by a little Orca on the packet, the blue Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) label, or the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) label.
- You can support Ocean Conservation initiatives by fundraising for them or simply telling people about them.
Those are just a few ways you can help out our Penguin friends so that they are here for a long time into the future.