Penguins: 25 fascinating facts about these flightless friends

When you think of penguins, you may think of the large emperor ones featured in all the movies and documentaries, but there are actually 18 species of penguins around the world. Though they vary in size, every type of penguin has a black back and white stomach.

Millions of years ago when dinosaurs walked the Earth, penguin ancestors were around too. Penguin fossils dated from 60 million years ago prove the flightless birds survived even when the dinosaurs perished. Those penguin ancestors were much larger than the ones found today, with some close to 6 feet tall.

Even though penguins cannot fly, they are experts at moving around. On land, they waddle slowly—but they swim as fast as 15 miles per hour using their webbed feet, flippers, and aerodynamic shape to cut through the water.

When penguins have to traverse long distances via land, they won’t waddle. Instead, they’ll act like kids on a snow day and go tobogganing. For penguins, this means they’ll lay down on the ice belly-side down and push themselves with their feet, sliding across the ice.

Many species of penguins live in cold habitats, with some living in the harshest cold-weather climates. To stay toasty, these penguins gather together to form huge colonies that can comprise millions of birds. Not only do these colonies provide warmth, but they also provide protection against any potential predators.

These sea birds are known for their mating habits particularly because penguins tend to stay with their partners for many years, sometimes even for life. In this dual-parent household, the mother and father penguin share in the duties of raising chicks.

Like all birds, penguin chicks hatch from eggs. Some penguin species build nests while others in cold climates incubate their eggs by keeping them on top of their feet and beneath a fatty layer of skin.

Soon after baby penguins hatch, both of their parents leave to gather more food for them. During this time, the young birds stick together for safety in numbers. When their parents return, penguin chicks can find their parents based on their unique voices.

Unlike whales and sea lions, penguins don’t need blubber to keep warm in freezing cold temperatures. Instead, their feathers act as insulation trapping the warm air their muscles produce from swimming fast.

Rather than shedding their feathers throughout the year, penguins capitalize on just one molting session to remain waterproof the rest of the year. During their “catastrophic molt” penguins lose all of their feathers over the course of a few weeks and must forgo hunting while this occurs.

Known for their tiny stature, the little blue penguin is the smallest species. Standing at just 16 inches tall, they are often called “fairy penguins” as a nod to their miniature size.

Penguins are big fans of jumping and use two different jumps to get them to their destinations. On the way into the water, penguins will sometimes jump to propel themselves faster into the ocean. When it is time to go back to land, some species can jump up to 9 feet by simply swimming very fast.

Capable of diving way down to the depths of the ocean, penguins need to be able to hold their breath for long stretches of time. The longest-recorded penguin dive was 22 minutes long.

Ever wonder why all species of penguins come in black and white? These birds aren’t just sporting tuxedo-like colors for the fun of it. Their coloring acts as camouflage with their white stomachs mirroring the surface while their black backs more closely match the surface of the water.

Whether it be from gulping fish, swimming daily, or simply getting thirsty, penguins ingest a lot of saltwater. To combat this, they have what we call a supraorbital gland that takes the salt out of their bloodstream. Later they expel the salt through their bills.

Without teeth, penguins still devour many fish a day. They do so with the help of spines in their mouths that guide their food down their throats.

Because of penguins gathering in colonies made up of thousands and sometimes millions, one could imagine such a group would produce a lot of waste. This is true, but it isn’t a bad thing. Penguin poop leaves dark stains on the ice, allowing researchers to keep track of the birds all the way from space.

While dense bones would be terrible for most other bird species who need to be lightweight to fly, penguins have dense bones that allow them to sink. This means they’re better adapted for swimming and diving deep.

Although they have many predators in the water, most species of penguins have few predators on land which means they feel very safe while walking about. That means they tend to get up close and personal to people when they come across them.

Despite what people think, not all penguins live in brutally cold Arctic atmospheres. Only one species lives outside of the Southern hemisphere of the Earth though, and that’s the Galápagos penguin. To cope with the hot weather, these penguins pant like dogs.

The species of penguin you may be most familiar with, the emperor penguin is the biggest of them all. They can grow to be more than 4 feet tall.

Similar to some other animals, there is evidence that penguins sometimes have same-sex couples. In particular, male penguins have been known to pair up and raise a chick together.

Many species of penguins are listed as threatened and five are even listed as endangered—the erect-crested penguin, northern rockhopper penguin, African penguin, Galapagos penguin, and the yellow-eyed penguin.

There are many factors for why penguins are being threatened. From commercial fishing, infectious diseases brought by humans, loss of food and habitat, there are lots of hurdles penguins have to overcome daily.

The biggest threat to penguins is the same one affecting all animals, including humans: climate change. With polar ice caps melting and the overall temperatures of the oceans rising, penguins are in grave danger. They’re not only losing their habitats but also the food supply and nutrients they rely on. Luckily, there are conservation efforts to try to combat some of these threats. The Wildlife Conservation Network uses a mix of research, education, and policymaking in order to best help protect these amazing animals.