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Penguin |
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Q:
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Are penguins birds or mammals?
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A:
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Penguins are birds. They have feathers, beaks and wings, and they lay eggs. Late-breaking research indicates albatrosses are their closest living relatives. Other close relatives are also fish-eating seabirds: the petrels and shearwaters.
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Q:
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Are penguins related to seals?
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A:
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No. Penguins look a bit like seals when they swoop swiftly through the water. Both seals and penguins have streamlined bodies adapted for swimming and diving. And both seals and penguins breathe air. But penguins are seabirds, while seals are marine mammals.
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Q:
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Do penguins have teeth?
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A:
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No, but penguins have soft, flexible bristles on their tongues and on the roof of their mouths, which keep slippery fish from wiggling away.
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Q:
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Do penguins make good pets?
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A:
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No. They need to be kept in groups, and they don't do well unless they're kept in large enclosures with filtered air, controlled temperatures, fresh saltwater and dry surfaces to stand on. They also require lots of fresh fish to eat. It's better to enjoy penguins at your local aquarium or zoo.
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Q:
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How do penguins keep cool in hot places or keep warm in cold places?
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A:
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Penguins that nest on hot, sandy beaches often need to cool off. They'll stand in the shade or open their mouths to pant like a dog. Some species have special skin patches that help them cool off. Bare skin around a blackfooted penguin's eyes and feet turns pink as the penguin pumps extra blood there to lose heat.
All penguins use their black and white colors to adjust their body temperature on land. If they're hot, they turn toward the sun, using their white feathers to reflect its heat. If they're cold, they turn away from the sun, using their black feathers to soak up its warmth.
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Q:
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How fast can penguins swim?
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A:
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It varies from species to species—generally, larger species swim faster than small ones. Blackfooted penguins and gentoo penguins have been measured swimming at about 15 miles an hour (24 km/hr). That's four times faster than the fastest human swimmer!
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Q:
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How fast can penguins walk?
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A:
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Their normal waddle is pretty slow, about two miles an hour (3.2 km/hr). But when penguins are afraid or angry, they can put their heads down and run with surprising speed. They can often outrun a penguin scientist who is trying to catch them!
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Q:
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How long do penguins live?
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In the wild, penguins might live 15 to 20 years. Protected in captivity, they can live much longer.
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Q:
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How long does it take a penguin to grow up?
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It can take a year to two years, depending on the species. You can guess a young penguin's age from its feathers. All penguins hatch covered in fluffy down. Soon, the down is replaced by a warmer, woolly juvenile plumage. It may be a year or more before the juvenile plumage falls out to be replaced by sleek, black and white adult feathers.
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Q:
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Where can I get more information about penguins?
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A:
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Our Splash Zone penguin section has more information on penguins and what you can do to help them survive.
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Q:
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Where did the name "penguin" come from?
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It's not clear where the name "penguin" came from. It might be from the Latin word "pingua," meaning "fat." Penguins certainly are fat birds—their thick layer of blubber was well known to hungry sailors who hunted penguins in past centuries.
We do know that European sailors first applied the name "penguin" to plump seabirds of the Northern Hemisphere—birds known today as puffins and auks. These birds are not closely related to true penguins.
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Q:
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Where do penguins sleep?
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When they're on land to breed or molt their feathers, penguins sleep at their nesting territories. But penguins also spend much of the year feeding—and sleeping—on the open ocean, without touching land for months.
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Q:
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Which animals eat penguins?
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In the water, penguins have to watch out for orcas, sharks and leopard seals. On land, birds called skuas will grab penguin eggs and chicks. In many places, penguins are also threatened by introduced predators: cats, foxes or other animals brought into the penguin's habitat by humans.
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Q:
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Why do penguins walk funny?
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A:
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A penguin's legs are set far back on its body. On land, this makes penguins walk with that cute waddle. But in the water, these far-out feet become rudders that help the penguin steer.
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