Where Do Penguins Live?
Most penguins live in the southern hemisphere. Not all penguins live in cold places. For example, some penguins live in places like Australia, New Zealand, America, and Africa.
What Do Penguins Look Like?
Penguins have a layer of fat over their skin like whales called blubber. On top of that penguins are covered in fluffy feathers which are called down feathers. Overtop of the down feathers they have outer feathers. They have all these layers to keep them warm in the cold places that they live in. The penguins that live in warmer climates also have all of these layers so they get really warm. They spread out their wings to cool themselves down. Their feathers are white and black. These colours act as camouflage for the penguins when they are in the water. The black helps them blend into the dark ocean water and the white helps them blend into the snow. From under the water, the white looks like the sun reflecting off of the top of the water.
Why Can’t They Fly?
As many of you know, penguins are flightless birds. This is because their bodies aren’t designed for flying. They are designed for swimming. Also, their wings are too short. Their wings work better for swimming. In A penguin’s environment, flying isn’t really necessary but swimming definitely is.
Fun Facts
Did you know that penguins spend about 75% of their life in the water? Some penguins can stay under water for about 20 minutes. Wow! That’s a long time to hold your breath for. The largest penguin is the emperor penguin. They can grow up to 120 cm tall. While the smallest penguin(the little blue penguin) only grows to about 33 cm tall.
What is your favourite animal? Why? What are some things that you know about it?
I hope you learned something new about penguins.