From the Animal Kingdom: Penguins

by Hailey Wong (4C)

Do you like penguins? I certainly do. They are so white, fluffy and cute. However, I bet most people don't know much about penguins. So, let's dive into the penguin world to find out about them!

Penguins are a species of birds, but they can’t fly. Penguins are born with light grey skin, then after they are older their skin will start turning brown, and finally merge into white and black. They have large flippers, which makes them ideal for swimming. They can swim up to 15 miles an hour, which is impressive! 

Most penguins like to feed on fish, krill, squid and other small marine animals. They catch their prey with their bill and they swallow them whole while swimming. Penguins have spiny tongues and strong jaws to suction their prey.

Penguins live half of their lives in the sea and the other half on land. A large number of penguin species live in the south half of the globe, the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species of penguins live on the north half of Earth: Galapagos penguins. 

The largest species of penguins on Earth are the Emperor penguins. Emperor penguins are about 1.1 metres tall and they weigh 35 kg on average. The smallest species of penguins are the little blue penguins, also nicknamed the ‘fairy penguin’. They are really tiny, standing at a height of about 30-33 cm and they weigh about 1.2-1.3 kg. Today, the larger penguins usually live in the colder regions, and smaller penguins usually live in warm or tropical regions.

Sadly, climate change is now threatening the penguins who live in Antarctica, like the Emperor penguins and Adelie penguins. They depend on the sea ice because it allows them to get food and places to live and breed. If global warming continues like this, a large number of penguins will disappear. Scientists think that 50% of Emperor penguins and 75% of Adelie penguins will disappear if global average temperatures rise above pre-industrial levels by 2 degrees celsius. It could happen 40 years from now if humans don’t protect the environment.

Therefore, let’s remember to protect the environment to save the penguins and other animals! It could make our future brighter and happier.