Emperor PENGUINS

Emperor Penguins in the Ross Sea, Antarctica
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Emperor penguins are by far the largest species found around the world. They live in the very cold weather of Antarctica. They are exceptionally beautiful creatures with the traditional black and white we are all familiar with. They have some very colorful features on their faces too though. Emperor penguins have Orange spots on their necks and their beaks. They also have yellow on their breast and ears.

Empower penguins eat very well from the fish in the ocean. They also consume squid when they are available. Emperor penguins are excellent hunters as they can swim rapidly underwater. They can also hold their breath underwater for up to 18 minutes which is really amazing.

They have very harsh lives though in many regards compared to other species of penguins. If you have watched March of the Penguins then you already know how they trek for long miles in the harsh winter without food to the breeding grounds. They have a very high mortality rate as the cold can kill their eggs. The mother and father are often on the edge of starvation and yet they do all they can to bring their young into the world.

The average lifespan for the Emperor penguin in the wild is about 20 years. The toll of the long winters and extensive travels really take a toll on them. Those that have been placed in captivity though live to be approximately 50 years old. They generally are able to remain in very good health while in captivity without any ongoing problems.

In order to communicate with each other, this species of penguins are able to make a variety of sounds. Each penguin is very unique in pitch and that is how they recognize each other. The young are able to remember what the sound of their parents is so they can easily find them.

They are very social creatures and enjoy the company of each other. They can be competitive at times but for the most part, they get along well with each other in the colonies. They treat their young extremely well and will go to great lengths to get them the food and care they need in order to survive.

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PENGUINS

Emperor penguins Français : Manchots empereurs (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Penguins are classified as a type of bird even though they don’t fly. They are very fascinating to observe though. There are twenty different species of penguins that have been identified. Some live in the hot heat of Africa while others live in below freezing temperatures in Antarctica. They also vary in their body size and even the designs on them. Yet the all have some common elements in place.

Penguins engage in social behaviors with their colony and often live a very happy existence. They mate for life and that is very different from many other creatures out there. More than half of the human population can’t even say that anymore! They also take very good care of their young. The males play a very active role in caring for the eggs which is different again from other types of animals who leave the female to take care of it all on her own.

The diet of a penguin is mainly fish as they all tend to live very close to bodies of water. Even those in captivity at zoos have access to live fish and to plenty of water to swim in. Penguins are believed to be very intelligent creatures too. They are able to adapt to a variety of circumstances in order to survive. They are amazingly fast swimmers and they can do so for hours at a time.

They are also very curious creatures that won’t do harm to people or other animals. They seem to interact very well with humans. Yet most of the time this doesn’t happen so that they can be observed in their natural environment without any variations due to the appearance of humans around them. In some tourist locations though people walk up to the penguins all the time without incident.

When they are on land, the penguins really have no real predators to worry about. Those that live in the Antarctic due have the issue of the weather though. It does claim the life of hundreds of penguins annually. They do have predators in the water though in the form of leopard seals and sharks. Their black and white color helps to camouflage them against such predators while they are in the water.

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