On January 20, the world community celebrates an environmental holiday in honor of one of the most unusual birds in the world – Penguin Awareness Day. Its goal – is to increase people's knowledge about penguins and focus on preserving the numbers and habitats of these birds.
Penguins (lat. Spheniscidae – is a family of flightless seabirds whose members swim and dive well, the only modern one in the order Sphenisciformes. There are 18 extant species of penguins in the family. The largest of them – is the emperor penguin, its height can reach 120 cm, and its weight – is more than 40 kg. The smallest representative of the species – is a small penguin, which is not higher than the knee of an adult, and its weight does not exceed 2.5 kg.
Penguins live only in the open sea of the Southern Hemisphere: off the coast of Antarctica, New Zealand, southern Australia, South Africa, along the entire coast of South America from the Falkland Islands to Peru, in the Galapagos Islands near the equator. Preferring coolness, in tropical latitudes penguins appear only with cold currents. The largest cluster of individuals is located in Antarctica and on adjacent islands. «Penguins settle in large colonies, usually numbering tens of thousands of pairs or more. The lifespan of these birds averages 25 years.
Photo: Khom Meekhun, licensed from Shutterstock.com
A thick layer of fat and water-repellent feathers help penguins retain heat on land and in water. It is their excellent adaptation to aquatic life that distinguishes them from other bird species. The penguin's body is ideally built for swimming, and its fin-like wings and webbed paws allow it to reach speeds of up to 10 km/h in the water. Some species of penguins can also dive to depths of up to 200 meters.
But on land they are not so «-speed». But of all modern birds, only penguins move «stoy». The way they move on loose snow – is also unusual, so as not to fall through when walking, penguins lie on their stomachs and, pushing off from the snow with their wings and paws, slide along it.
Since penguins are waterfowl, they feed on fish and crustaceans, which they hunt by swallowing directly under water. And during the molting period (from one to three months), these birds are forced to completely give up food. Birds lose up to half their body weight because they take energy from fat reserves accumulated in advance. Some species of penguins also do not eat during hatching of chicks. But since females and males replace each other, this helps them not to starve. As a rule, both parents alternately participate in incubating the eggs and feeding the chicks.
Photo: Stephen Lew, licensed from Shutterstock.com
Since penguins nest mainly in isolated areas, adults on land have virtually no natural enemies, unlike the sea, where penguins are hunted by leopard seals, cats, lions, killer whales and sharks. True, chicks left without parental supervision on the shore are easy prey for birds of prey, and some types of seagulls steal penguin eggs.
Penguins – are charming and friendly creatures, they walk funny, graceful and fast in the water. For most people they evoke sympathy and a smile. But their number is gradually decreasing every year, including due to people. Thus, among 18 species of penguins, by the beginning of the 21st century, three species were recognized as being on the verge of extinction, seven species are in danger of extinction.
As early as the 20th century, entire colonies of penguins were being destroyed, with humans collecting eggs for food and killing adults to melt subcutaneous fat and extract oil from it. And today, among the dangers is – habitat loss, as is the case with magnificent penguins, whose numbers are under threat due to expanding land use and human encroachment into the New Zealand dune system. Feral mammals pose a danger, for example, colonies of Galapagos penguins located on two islands were destroyed by feral dogs. Climate change, growing interest in the use of Antarctic marine biological resources, and water pollution from petroleum products caused by tanker routes there play a big role... All this leads to negative consequences for penguins and other inhabitants of the fragile ecosystem of this region.
Photo: Schwammerhans, licensed from Shutterstock.com
Therefore, today's holiday – is an occasion to learn more about these wonderful birds and their habitat, and think about what we can do to preserve the world and nature around us.
For example, there is the Penguin Watch – project, part of the citizen science project Zooniverse, in which science enthusiasts can take part in modern scientific research in the field of astronomy and climatology. In particular, they help scientists process large amounts of data that cannot yet be entrusted to computer algorithms. For example, scientists can help monitor populations of – penguins in photographs taken in penguin habitats. It is not yet possible to adapt a computer algorithm for this – black and white penguins merge with the terrain, and the computer often makes mistakes. The results of the calculations are processed by specialists, and scientists draw conclusions about how many birds visit certain territories. During the project, 40 thousand people have already counted penguins in 4.5 million images.
By the way, there is another holiday dedicated to these flightless birds – World Penguin Day, which is celebrated annually on April 25.
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