FACTS ABOUT PENGUINS By Liv Kemp PENGUINS All

FACTS ABOUT PENGUINS!!! By Liv Kemp

PENGUINS All 17 species of penguins are found in the Southern Hemisphere. Some have nicknames which make it look like there are more…but there are only 17. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

EMPEROR PENGUIN - the tallest species - male and females are about the same height - they grow to about 122 cm – that’s about the size of a 7 year old - they are found in Antarctica - the male protects its egg for 2 MONTHS This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

LITTLE BLUE PENGUIN - this is the smallest Penguin - they are found in New Zealand South Australia - they grow to about 30 – 33 cm This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC

GENTOO PENGUIN - this is the fastest Penguin - they can swim up to 22 mph - that’s almost as fast as a car goes on busy streets This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

CAMOUFL AGE Whilst penguins swim in the ocean, they are able to camouflage from both sides. From above their black backs blend into the dark waters below. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

CAMOUFL AGE From underneath their white belly is hidden against the bright surface. Hey! Where did they

FOSSILS Fossils found on the earth show that penguin relatives lived 60 million years ago. This means that an ancestor of the penguins we see today, survived the mass extinction of the dinosaurs.

PENGUINS SPECIAL GLANDS Penguins swallow a lot of sea water while hunting for fish. They have a special gland behind their eyes that filters out the salt water from their blood stream. Penguins get rid of the salt through their beaks or by sneezing.

MOULTING Unlike most birds which lose and replace a few feathers at a time penguins moult all at once. This is called a catastrophic moult. This means they cannot swim for 2 or 3 weeks. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

MOULTING They really need someone to knit them a jumper! This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA

BREEDING Most Penguins breed in large colonies of up to a 1, 000 birds. That’s a lot of penguins!! If a female emperor penguin baby dies, she will often kidnap an unrelated chick. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

LOYALTY Penguins are super special because many of the species stay together for life. How cute is that? ? This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA

THREATS TO PENGUIN POPULAT IONS Major threats to the future of our penguins include: Global warming Industrial Fishing Pollution

GLOBAL WARMING The Antarctic should be cold and icy Global warming has meant that ice is melting Emperor Penguins raise their babies on the ice When sea ice breaks up before the chicks have grown big enough or grown waterproof feathers they can be swept away into the sea and die

INDUSTRIA L FISHING Industrial fishing is when large amounts of fish are caught at once This is dangerous to penguins for two reasons It means that the number of fish available is much smaller, and it is difficult for penguins to find food Sometimes the penguins get caught in the very large nets that are used

POLLUTIO N Pollution can come in different forms * Oil spills * Marine pollution * Plastics All of these can affect the habitat of the penguin, and penguins themselves. Plastic pollution is getting worse across the world

* Think about climate change - we need to use less energy and greenergy WHAT CAN WE DO? - recycle - use our cars less, or share transport such as buses or trains * Think about our waste - so many of our products are wrapped in plastic, which is ending up in our rivers and oceans - shops such as Iceland are promising to be ‘plasticfree’ soon. We need to encourage all shops to do the same

Thank you for looking at my science project. I hope you learnt something new about Penguins. By Liv