More than 23 million years ago, the first penguins appeared in the world. And until now, they cheer people up with their clumsy movements and cute looks. But, as an ancient inhabitant of the planet, this bird is a developed and genetically wise creature. But also very strong: a quarter of the body weight of a black and white inhabitant of Antarctica is muscle! Yes, penguins cannot fly, but they dive to a depth of 130 kilometers and swim at a speed of more than 6.5 km per hour.
The largest representatives of the class, emperor penguins, reach 117 centimeters in height and weigh up to 40 kilograms. When standing, they rest on their tails, and the belly serves as a sled for the bird when necessary: it lies on its stomach and moves like this, pushing off with its limbs, at a speed of 3-6 km/h.
But if a bird looks at something in the sky and falls on its back, it will not be able to get up on its own. Thanks to this fact, a fable appeared that there is one of the rarest professions in the world – a penguin flipper. In fact, it was invented by the satirist writer Zadornov, and the feathered inhabitants of the continent of Antarctica rarely fall into this situation, because they rely on their tails and know how to control their center of gravity. Read 13 true and little-known facts about penguins.
- For the first time the world heard about these animals in 1487. In the diary of an unknown author, a description of flightless birds found near the Cape of Good Hope is provided. These records were found on board Vasco da Gama’s ship. Most likely, they refer to penguins.
- The next mention of them belongs to the authorship of a crew member of the famous Magellan in 1520. Antonio Pigafetta talked about the birds the team saw during the round-the-world trip and called them “strange geese.” Apparently, this characteristic was suggested to the sailor by the funny manner of movement.
- Walking through the pass, which penguins so amuse us with, is actually a way of conserving energy in cold conditions. Moving in this way, the bird’s body functions like a pendulum – it converts its potential energy into kinetic energy. The forces accumulated at the end of each oscillation are used for the next step. For comparison, a person can save up to 65% of his energy in various ways. And the penguins will win up to 80% this way.
- Black and white color is also needed not only for beauty. This bird wears a tuxedo so that its black back blends in with the water column for predators in the sky, and its white breast is invisible to predators on the bottom, blending in with the light reflected by the waves. By the way, most species of penguins spend 75% of their lives swimming and come to land only to incubate and raise their young.
- Because of their color, penguins have earned various nicknames among the peoples of the world. Polarists call them policemen because of the black spot on the head and the stripe under the chin that resembles a helmet. And the English and Americans call birds “pasta”. But not because of their smoothness. That’s what fashionable dudes were called in the 19th century.
- In New Zealand, they are called “hoiho”, that is, noisemakers. The penguins there are wonderful. This rare variety is listed in the Red Book and has only 5 thousand individuals. They lead a different way of life: they do not gather in groups, because they do not freeze like in Antarctica, they separate in pairs and spend most of their lives on land.
- And penguins got their official name from other birds. At first, people called Pinguinus impennis wingless auk. But this bird, which lived in the east of Canada, later became extinct. So in the 16th century, her name was given to a similar species of black and white birds that we know today.
- Relationships in these animals are similar to human ones: they are monogamous, so they look for a partner for life, and the chicks go to the nursery from the age of three weeks in the literal sense of the word: united groups of cubs number from three to sixty-four individuals. This phenomenon is explained by the attacks of predatory skua birds, from which small penguins suffer. Therefore, nature itself tells them to stick to the pile.
- Male arctic animals are the ideal of a man. They know how to court and take care of their partner – they croak and dance a kind of dance for the chosen one. Then the eggs are hatched for several months. And if there is a potential threat from killer whales, one brave person from the herd always dives into the water first to inform the others of the real state of affairs in the water, possibly at the cost of his life.
- Heredity of penguins is expressed through the education of the younger generation. Old birds show younger ones how to catch fish at a depth of more than 20 meters. It cannot be said that they nurse newborn cubs, but the one who survived in the manger will definitely receive the necessary knowledge in the herd of adults.
- In the shell, the future of the chick is also very protected by the parents. The case when geologists stole pinguina egg, intending to feast on it. A whole flock of penguins followed the scientists until the people decided to return the stolen things. The animals didn’t even think of attacking, but the silent pursuit could last as long as they wanted.
- In general, penguins are quite friendly towards people. This is explained by the fact that their worst enemies – killer whales – live in water. So they feel quite free on earth. That is why you can see on TV how travelers befriended a bird in a tailcoat, feed it from their hands and even stroke it.
- Most often, the emperor penguins that live on the ice caps around Antarctica become TV stars. They are the largest of all 20 known species and impress with their skills. Such a bird can dive to a depth of more than half a kilometer and hold its breath for half an hour. And they also withstand constant cold up to 40 degrees Celsius with a minus sign.
Wise nature endowed penguins with special plumage, a thick layer of subcutaneous fat and a tendency to group together so that their population could exist on planet Earth for a long time and without obstacles. Sometimes, colonies of these birds are so large that they can be easily distinguished from space! But man puts his destructive hand to everything.
For example, in 2000, penguins suffered greatly from an oil spill. Volunteers washed them one by one off the coast of South Africa to save them from death. During the development of whaling, these birds were also distributed. Man also interfered in natural food chains when he brought animals to the subantarctic islands, which now feed on penguins. The development of tourism and science in Antarctica also harms birds. So, currently, one by one, subspecies of these ancient animals are included in the Red Book. Would you like to travel to the cold continent and pet a penguin? Write in the comments!
