Facts about Penguins 

Top Penguin Facts

While you may be an avid fan of penguins, there is likely some information you aren’t familiar with. Learning various facts is a great way to expand your knowledge. It can also fuel your interest to learn more about specific species of penguins or certain aspects of their lives.

1. Penguins are birds

Penguins are birds highly adapted to the aquatic life.

Penguins are avid swimmers and they have changed their wings by flippers as part of the adaptation process.


2. Penguis feed in the Ocean

Penguins feed on squid, fish, krill and some other forms of sealife.


3. The Emperor Penguin is the largest penguin

The Emperor Penguins are about 1.15 meters tall and about 37 Kg weigh. The Little Blue Penguins are the smallest penguins and they are about 40 cm tall and 1.2 Kg. weigh


4. Penguin Distribution

Penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere, however they are not exclusively found in the cold climates. There are penguins living as north as the Galapagos islands, close to the equator.


5. Penguin are active communicators

Vocalization is the key way in which penguins communicate with each other. While they can create unique sounds, they don’t have the best range of hearing. Instead it is believed they can often pick up mainly on the vibrations from the various sounds around them.

6. Penguins have developed senses

What they lack with their hearing though they more than make up for with their eyesight. They are able to see very far both on land and under the water. They can see extremely well both during the day and at night. Yet you will mainly find penguins hunting during the day. Research also indicates that penguins are able to see in color. It is also believed that they have an extremely good sense of smell.

7. Penguins spend long time in water

Most of the time pictures you see of penguins in books and online show them in their colonies on land. However, they average approximately 75% of their time in the water. Depending on the location where they live, they may spend several weeks or months at a time in water before they move onto land. This is especially true of those that live in regions where there is plenty of ice.

Penguins are able to dive a long way into the water for food. Depending on the species, that distance can be up to 1,700 feet. However, they do need to surface for air on a regular basis. The period of time that they can remain under the water without doing so is from one minute to twenty minutes depending on the species.


8. Penguins sleep standing up

Some people wonder if penguins actually sleep or not. They do sleep with their flippers out to help them retain their body temperature. The amount of time that they will sleep depends on the environment. Generally they will sleep more when they are molting because they don’t eat much if at all during that period of time. Additional sleep allows them to reduce the amount of energy that they use.

One of the reasons why many people don’t think penguins sleep though is because some of them do it standing up. This is very common when they live in extremely could areas and they have to keep eggs warm. They will huddle together to stay as warm as possible. They will sleep most of the time too in order to not waste energy as they can’t leave the eggs to go hunt for food.

9. Penguins are oriented by the sun

They use the sun to help them stay in course when they migrate. Penguins in some areas such as close to the equator can also get sunburned. This is why they cover their feet with their flippers as they walk on land. This is also why the colors of the feathers for the young are different than adults. They don’t have the layers of fat yet to protect them from the sunlight.

There are plenty more great facts about penguins out there. I encourage you to explore them so you can discover more about these great creatures. There is plenty to learn about them as a whole as well as by individual species.