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Galapagos penguin is the only type of penguin that can be seen in Northern hemisphere. It happens rarely and only when food in South hemisphere is scarce.
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Penguins are excellent swimmers. They can swim 15-20 miles per hour. They can keep their breath for 20 minutes and can dive deeper than any other bird.
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Penguins eyes see better under the water than on the ground. Excellent eyesight helps them to avoid predators while they are searching for food.
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Natural predators of penguins are orcas, seals, sharks, snakes…
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Penguins are carnivores. They eat shrimps, krill, squids, fish…
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Unique colors of their feathers provide excellent camouflage in the water: dark-colored backs can't be seen from above because they blend with water, and white bellies can't be seen from below because they blend with the sky.
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Penguins are social animals. They live in large communities composed of thousand to ten thousand couples.
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Penguins communicate by producing the sounds. They also communicate using their heads and flippers.
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Penguin's feather is dense and lubricated with oil. Besides feather, thick layer of skin and blubber provides protection from the low temperature.
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Emperor and king penguins don't form nests for their eggs. Female lays one egg and father takes care of it until it hatches. Father will cover the egg with a flap of skin called brood pouch. Egg must be kept warm from 8-10 weeks. During that time father don't eat. He can lose up to half of his body mass before the chick is hatched.
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If penguin loses a chick, it can steal a chick from other family.
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Fairy penguin is the smallest type of penguin. It weighs only 2 pounds. Emperor penguin is the largest penguin and it can weigh up to 90 pounds.
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Yellow-eyed penguin lives near New Zealand and this is the rarest species of penguin. Only 5000 birds are left in the wild.
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Out of 18 known penguin species, 5 species are endangered.
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Penguins live between 15 and 20 years, depending on the species.
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Penguins are flightless birds. Instead of regular wings, penguins have flippers. There are less than twenty known species of penguins and they all live in the Southern hemisphere. Besides in Antarctica, they can be found in South America, South Africa, New Zealand and many pacific islands. Penguins are easily adaptable birds which is why they can be seen in numerous zoos and "Sea Worlds" around the world.