All About Penguins

By Abby Todd

Table of Contents

• Question and Answer Pages• Fast Facts Page• Reference Page• About Me Page

Where do penguins live?

Penguins live in South America. They also live In Africa ,Attica ,and Australia.

A description of their habitat

These highly specialized marine birds are adapted to living at sea - some species spend as much as 75% of their lives at sea. Penguins are usually found near nutrient-rich, cold-water currents that provide an abundant supply of food.  

Different species thrive in varying climates, ranging from Galápagos penguins on tropical islands at the equator to emperor penguins restricted to the pack ice of Antarctica.

The penguins enemies…

Seals, sea lions, sharks, and killer whales are the penguin's predators. The leopard seal loves eating penguins. Although these animals are enemies of the penguin at sea, they usually don’t bother it on land. Birds, like the giant petrel, brown skua, gull, and sheathbill, actually eat penguin eggs and attack penguin chicks, but they don’t hurt adult penguins.  

 Did you know that people can be enemies of the penguin too. If fishing boats catch too many fish in the waters where the penguins live, there is not enough fish for the penguins to eat. Oil spills are also a danger to penguins. The oil coats the penguins’ feathers and makes them lose their waterproofing.

How The Penguin is Born

The baby penguin is born from a egg . Once the egg is laid the mother gives the egg to the father.

Afterwards, the father takes care of the egg until the mother returns.

How the penguin moves…

On land, penguins cannot fly, but they can jump. They jump in and out of the water and climb over the ice and rocks. When penguins want to get somewhere in a big hurry, they slide over the ice on their bellies. This is called toboganning. When they walk, penguins seem to waddle because of their long bodies and short legs.

How the chicks change as they grow…

Both the mother and father take care of the baby when the father comes home. They feed it and keep it warm until it is too big to stay in the brood pouch. Then, all the baby chicks gather together in groups called crèches and learn how to be penguins. Mom and Dad come back often to feed their babies. After about five months, the chicks lose their baby fur and start to grow their waterproof feathers. Pretty soon they will be old enough to survive on their own. When it is time for them to have babies of their own, they will come back to the same place they were born to raise their chicks. They usually come back in about four years.

References

• http://www.geocities.com/rehm12/penguins.htm#Description

• http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Penguins/home.html

All About Me Page

Hello my name is Abigail or Abby for short.