It is not very well understood because the penguin has wings, but does not fly. And not only; he doesn't fly, but he walks clumsily with short steps and swaying. Capable of traveling distances of up to 200 kilometers to reach their destination. Every year they undertake a journey with the aim of mating and having their young. In this article we will show you the reality of what are the endangered penguins extinction.
how are the penguins
Penguins are seabirds that have abandoned the ability to take flight, however, they are adapted for aquatic resistance by swimming and submerged in the ocean thanks to their quality that is completely hydrodynamic.
On land, more than walking, penguins balance, the reason is that their legs are short, thick and strong and are placed far back, their webbed shape is reminiscent of that of ducks without losing balance when walking, they support the entire weight of the body on legs and tail. Their claws are strong, which allows them to hold on to snow and icy surfaces very well.
Penguins belong to the order of Sphenisciformes, where today there are 13 species scattered throughout the southern hemisphere with the exception of the penguin found in the Galapagos Islands which bears his name and the order Spheniscus Mendiculus.
Facepenguin characteristics
- Penguin bones are solid and compact, unlike those of flying birds, which are lighter.
- The penguins, resting a bit strangely, do not lie down, but stand upright on their strong legs.
- Powerful tongue and palate beak has tiny hooks to retain fish, shrimp, squid is krill.
- The body of the penguin is given to swim, walk and withstand very low temperatures.
- The wings are strong and flattened, resembling the fins of a fish. The penguin wash to move in the water they dive into the water to fish. There are species that are capable of resisting up to 20 minutes under water. He swims and dives great, he moves like a fish underwater.
- They jump in the water to breathe go faster hear from possible predators.
- The feathers are thick strong and close together. The tips are oily and that protects us even more from the cold under the plumage has a thick layer of fat that serves as insulation.
- Adult penguins shed their plumage each year to improve their protection against the cold. Their thick, oily plumage is a very effective barrier against the extreme cold they have to endure.
How do penguins live?
Every year, certain species of penguins undertake a journey that will take them to warmer areas, almost always on the coast to mate and have their young. They are capable of traveling distances of up to 200 kilometers to reach their destination before migrating. The penguins eat a lot to store fat reserves and withstand the walk.
When they arrive at their destination, they form colonies of thousands and thousands of birds. Once there, they look for a mate among the crowd to reproduce, although they are more common in cold places, penguins also exist today in tropical regions with cold water currents.
The mating season lasts thirty days. Summer is the preferred season for penguins to mate. The ritual of the penguin is to stretch its neck and rub its head with its wings to conquer its partners. After laying the egg, the female is very weak and goes to the sea to feed, the male relieves her in the nest. Cases are reported where penguins breed again with the same partner in the same place as the previous year.
Females usually lay one or two eggs fifteen days after mating in many species, the males turn to the female to incubate the egg, such as the Magellanic penguin does not build nests, but nests in shallow burrows.
Two months later and the shell breaks into its gray and white chick. There are species in which the males incubate the egg, care for and protect the little one in the absence of the mother and can go without eating for up to four months thanks to their fat reserves. Once the female feeds in the sea, she returns to the nest and takes over. the male in care of the little ones.
Newborns are very hungry and ask for food three or four times a day. It has an incredible quality where father and sons are able to recognize each other among thousands of penguins in the colony, they do so through calls and gestures or squawks.
At 5 months the penguin is ready to leave the colony and they are able to support themselves and resist the cold alone since the parents feed them until they are 4 months old and in this period they usually do it once a week.
When it is very cold, the little ones huddle together to keep warm, in this way the temperature of the group can increase up to 10 degrees centigrade.
What sub-species of penguins have become extinct?
At present, scientists do not know the exact number of extinct species, but they name some that disappeared as they are:
- Pygoscelis calderensis, Pygoscelis Grandisel: It is characterized by being the largest of the species.
- Spheniscus chilensis.
- Spheniscus megarampus: whose main characteristic was that the beak was larger than its head, the fossil remains of the aforementioned species were found on the Chilean coast.
- Spheniscus muizoni: existed in the Middle Miocene period.
- Urbinal Spheniscus: existed in the late Miocene.
- Icadyptes salasi: according to evidence they measure 1 meter and a half and existed thirty-six million years ago, Upper Eocene.
- Perudyptes devriesi: giant species among those known.
- Madryniornis Mirandu: the most beautiful penguin that ever existed, these three species were found on the coast of Peru.
- inguza predemersus: This extinct specimen is presumed to be a direct descendant of the African penguin.
- Megadyptes waitaha: It was discovered by chance in New Zealand in 2008.
- Aptenodytes ridgeni: found on the Oceanian coasts of New Zealand lived during the early Pliocene.
As we can see, most of the species that became extinct and their fossils were found in Chile, Peru, Antarctica, southern Australia, South Africa, all the sub-Antarctic Islands in the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador and in the Patagonia of Argentina.
What is your level of danger of extinction?
The International Union for Conservation of Nature has agreed on a distribution of the measure of extinction danger of the penguin species that exist. None of them are exempt from threats or dangers, but five are in a stage with enough risk to cease to exist and six are vulnerable, while the remaining seven face a small danger. The decline in the number of penguins begins in the late 70s.
Checking with the data obtained from the 30s, the penguin family for those years was around 100.000 species in Antarctica and at the beginning of 1970 the number of specimens began to increase, passing approximately 600.000.
What are the threats to penguins?
Penguins suffer attacks from other stronger predators and the consequences of ecological accidents in seas and oceans. Threats to penguins are one of the causes that put it in danger of extinction.
From the air
Birds and seagulls eat the eggs and attack the penguin chicks, there are also hungry whales such as killer whales, including any animal that crosses their path in their diet and the penguin is no exception.
Contamination
Another of the threats that the penguins suffer is the pollution that exists in the seas, the toxic dumps in the sea and the oil slicks are really a threat, that is why it is important to take care of the environment so as not to be able to read in danger any type of Wild animals.
The hunt
It is another of the threats by which the penguins are becoming extinct and it is that the skin of the penguin is very expensive, its feathers and its meat are also used to sell it. Antiquity was more frequent than today, but today it is still practiced. 15 years ago this type of hunting killed more than two million species of penguins that were in the Malvinas Islands.
Fishing
It is not a threat that goes against the penguins, but when there are many fishermen exercising this practice, it reduces the number of fish that the penguins feed on.
Global warming
It is a general threat that is currently killing many species on the planet and of course the penguin is not exempt from this, as warming causes the ice to melt, affecting its natural habitat.
How do you try to ensure the survival of the penguin?
Many years have been tried to obtain approved laws so that the penguins are neither married nor harmed and in the year of 1991 it was when they approved these laws for the conservation of them.
There are people, organizations and institutions where they also looked for another way to ensure the existence of the penguin and it was through reserves and thus ensure the species.
Species a very varied family
But they know that penguins form a large family and there are 17 different species, each with its own customs, habits and physical traits, here we can talk about some of them.
Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri)
It is the largest that currently exists, it reaches 1,20 meters and dives into waters up to 500 meters deep.
Humboldt penguin (Spheniscus humboldti)
It inhabits small colonies on the western coast of South America and nests in burrows.
Galapagos Penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus)
These penguins are located in the second place of the smallest penguins with only 45cm of altitude as their name indicates, they are found in the Galapagos Islands where the temperatures are very cold and they meet the Humboldt and Cromwell currents. This particular species is in extinction due to so many climatic changes that exist on the planet, which has notoriously reduced the species thanks to the fact that the fish they feed on are no longer there.
Magellanic Penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus)
Penguin species with a size of 45 cm and 30 to 45 cm in length. They nest in the Falkland Islands, Argentina and Chile. In winter they migrate to the northern waters towards Uruguay and Brazil. This family of penguins is excessively numerous and it is on the islands of Argentina that they reproduce. In the countries of Chile and Argentina this species is protected and they restrict the passage of people to these islands.
Antipodean Penguin (Eudyptes sclateri)
Penguins of only half a meter 70 cm are found in New Zealand in the archipelagos, penguins are in danger of extinction because they do not have an area where they can reproduce. These penguins are also threatened by pollution of the seas, industrial fishing and oil.
Rockhopper Penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus)
Medium, about fifty to seventy centimeters tall, it bears a resemblance to the rockhopper penguin, it is one of the most numerous species of penguins on the planet.
Northern Rockhopper Penguin (Eudyptes moseleyi)
Penguins that are in extinction due to climate change and excessive fishing to be commercialized this species is also affected by oil pollution the northern rock-jumping penguin its main predator is the Endangered polar bear.
Rockhopper penguin (Eudyptes chrysocome)
It is characterized by having long feathers on its head, it goes without saying that they are yellow, it is very noisy, quite agile and, above all, very aggressive, it reaches a height of half a meter and it is found on the islands of Argentina, in New Zealand, and in the Malvinas Islands. in the Prince Edward Islands on Closet Island and the Antipodes Islands
Snares Penguin (Eudyptes robustus)
One of the last species of penguins in danger of extinction and that is that they have nowhere to reproduce since humanity has limited the area of their reproduction by reducing the group of Islands. This species is found in New Zealand and can temporarily be seen on the islands south of Australia on Chatham Island and Stewart Island.
It is important to note that all penguin species are in danger of extinction thanks to global warming, pollution and excessive fishing that occurs in the seas and oceans.
