List of Educational Facts about Penguins – Animal Presentation for Children and Adults

Penguins, you’d have to admit it, belong to the list of the cutest animals, which are hard to pass by during a trip to the zoo. But, besides the fact that they have black and white coloration and are exceptionally cute, what do you know about penguins, in case your kids ask about them?

You can sure rely on the information, provided about these animals on the information boards in the zoo, but it would surely be awesome to surprise your kids by throwing in some interesting facts about these birds. And we would like to make this mission easier for you.

Penguins: 7 Interesting Facts about Aquatic, Flightless Birds

#1. Where do they live?

When thinking about penguins, people usually get an image of the ice-cold Antarctica. But the habitat of these birds is spread out on the territory of different countries and continents, including New Zealand, #Africa, and even some equatorial regions.

#2. Emperor penguins

Emperor penguin is considered to be the biggest species of penguin and this flightless bird is usually found in Antarctica. It is believed that every year Emperor penguins spend ten months on the dry lands of Antarctica, but for the other two months they are forced to live on the floating ice, between the open sea and the dry lands of Antarctica.

Adult Emperor penguins reach up to 48 inches (122 cm) in height and can weigh close to 99 lbs (45 kilograms).

#3. Adelie penguins

Adelie Penguins also choose Antarctica as their primary land of habitat. These birds were first noticed by the scientists in one of Antarctic regions, which called Terre Adelie, hence the name of the species.

Most commonly Adelie Penguins settle on floating ice, which is formed between the coastline and the open sea. Since these animals cannot make nests on ice, which constantly melts (when it melts, the eggs will sink), in spring this species of penguins is moving to the mainland. In order to get to this desired destination, they usually have to cover dozens of miles.

#4. Flightless bird

The evolutionary changes transformed the penguin's wings into flippers, but, nonetheless these birds have come up with ways to move quite quickly, both on land and in the water. They can travel on foot or slide on their bellies and do so quite fast - at speeds up to 3.7 mph (6 km/h).

#5. King penguins

King penguins are the most successful fishermen in Antarctica. During the mating season, the king penguin population can consume eat up to 7,000 tons of fish.
In order to catch the fish, the birds dive up to 20 meters into the water. The fishing trips take place once every two weeks. In between the hunts penguins can live without extra snacks and only consume water.

The chicks in the families of king penguins appear less frequently than in the families of other penguin species. At first a female lays one egg, then one more the next year. The third egg is usually laid two years after the second.

#6. Gentoo penguins

Gentoo penguins are usually found in the Subantarctic islands. Gentoo Penguins are excellent swimmers, as scientists have observed some of them swim at speeds close to 40 km/h.

#7. The most numerous penguin species

Macaroni penguins are considered to be the most common species of penguins in the world. Although statistical data varies, many zoologists believe that the population of these birds has exceeded the level of 9 millions.

Chinstrap penguins are found on the Antarctic islands. These little penguins feed on krill (usually small marine crustaceans, about 1.57-2.36 in (4-6 cm) in size).

#9. Yellow-eyed penguins

Yellow-eyed penguins are found in New Zealand. It is the only species of penguins, which does not form colonies. Couples of yellow-eyed penguins nest independently.

People of New Zealand call these birds "hoiho", which means "noise shouter". The name derives from a very unusual ritual, which takes place, when male and female penguins see each other after a long separation - they greet each other with loud shouts. This is a very rare kind of penguin, as there are only 4 thousand pairs of these birds in the world.

Other quick and fun facts about penguins:

- A penguin’s dense plumage and body fat, keep this bird from getting wet in the water and withstand temperatures way below freezing. This and other adaptations to cold allow them to live in climates, where temperature can drop below -76 F (- 60 C°).

- Apart from keeping a penguin warm, a thick layer of fat is used for protecting eggs and helping chicks hatch. Underneath its belly a penguin has a so-called "brood pouch", which is used to preserve the eggs during the incubation process and protects the newborn chick against cold.

- The incubation process and preservation of the eggs takes a tool on the condition of the animal. For example, in this time emperor penguins lose about 40% of their weight.

- Penguin is probably the most widely known flightless bird. Although the evolution has taken away the ability to fly from penguins but in return they have received incredible swimming abilities. In the water, they reach speeds up to 25 miles per hour (40 km/h) and dive to depths of about 65 feet (20 meters). Emperor penguins, however, are the best divers and are known to submerge up to 655 feet (200 meters) in the water.

- Penguins are adapted to consuming sea water. The excess salt is not collected in their bodies but is pushed away through special supraorbital glands.

- Before going for a hunt, grown up penguins make sure their kids are left with a several grown-ups, who have the mission of protecting the young, while the majority of adults is hunting. In case of danger, adult penguins are ready to protect all youngsters. It’s interesting to know that a slap by a flipper of an adult Emperor penguin can be very unpleasant, even for an adult human.

- African penguins are usually called jackass penguins because of their loud vocalizations, which sound very similarly to the cry of a donkey.