Penguins are creatures that we are all familiar with. They live in very cold polar regions and are called "Antarctic boats". At present, many penguin species live in the Antarctic region, and in the Arctic region, there are no penguins.
However, the absence of penguins in the Arctic refers only to the current situation. There was also a penguin called the "Great Arctic Penguin" that lived in the Arctic, but it is now extinct. On the one hand, its extinction is due to the difference in the Arctic climate and environment, and on the other hand, there are polar bears in the Arctic region, which will use penguins as food.
Penguins are birds, but they are special because they are not good at flying, but they are very good at swimming. Penguins have obvious bird characteristics, such as a layer of warm feathers on the body surface, the body can maintain a constant temperature, and they all reproduce by oviparity, and the reason why penguins swim is mainly to adapt to nature and capture food to survive.
Most of the penguins we see are on TV. If we look closely, we will find that penguins have two small wings on both sides of their bodies. Their forelimbs are similar to the fins of fish, so they can swim freely in the sea, and It can dive to the bottom of the sea to hunt for food and ensure normal living needs.
Penguins feed on marine zooplankton, mainly Antarctic krill, and sometimes some squid and small fish. Penguins have a good appetite, and each penguin can eat an average of 0.75 kg of food per day. Therefore, penguins play an important role in the Southern Ocean food chain as predators. The krill that penguins eat in Antarctica is equivalent to half the amount of krill that whales eat.
Penguins like to live in groups. There are thousands, tens of thousands, and even more than 100,000 to 200,000 in a group. On the ice shelves of the Antarctic continent, or on the icebergs and ice floes of the Southern Ocean, one can see swarms of penguins congregating. Sometimes they line up neatly, facing in one direction, like a well-trained honor guard.
Because of their cute appearance, penguins are liked by many people when they walk and sway, but there are actually many things you don't know about them. Although they walk slowly, they swim very fast. Let's take a look at them in detail.
1. Swimming is fast
The swimming speed of penguins is very amazing. The swimming speed of adult penguins is 20 to 30 kilometers per hour, which is faster than the speed of a 10,000-ton ship, and can even surpass the fastest whaling ship. Penguin diving ability is comparable to that of the world diving champion, it can jump out of the water more than 2 meters high. Therefore, penguins can be called excellent swimmers and diving experts.
2. Penguins have no teeth
Because penguins are birds, penguins have no teeth. Penguins have barbs on their tongues and upper jaws for eating fish and shrimp, but these are not their teeth. A penguin needs these fleshy spines on its tongue to help it hold on to struggling prey. Fishing is vital to penguins, so their palate and tongue are covered in fleshy spines.
3. Penguins are not afraid of cold
Penguins are covered in feathers, which are very thick compared to most birds. Whether they are on land or in the water, the feathers keep out the cold, they are also waterproof, and they absorb heat efficiently when they are in the sun. In addition, the fat layer under the penguin's skin is very thick, which can effectively keep the body temperature constant.
