Where does the penguin live. Where do penguins live? At the North Pole or at the South? Enemies of penguins in nature

Penguins live in Antarctica as they are very well adapted to extreme cold due to their unique feathers, small legs and circulatory system. For example, one species of penguin found in Antarctica, the emperor penguin, has particularly small legs and a beak that helps it retain body heat.

According to the Australian Department of Conservation environment Emperor penguins have many adaptive features that allow them to thrive in the extreme cold of Antarctica. Their feathers are very short and scale-like, which insulates penguins from the harsh environment. This protection also includes a large number of body fat. Veins and arteries circulatory system penguins are close to each other, which helps the birds process body heat. Penguins are very social and huddle together to keep warm during the icy Antarctic winters.

However, not all penguins can survive in Antarctica. Of about two dozen species of penguins, all of which live in the Southern Hemisphere, only a few are able to live in the cold of Antarctica. In fact, the Antarctic winter is the breeding season for the emperor penguin. After laying one egg, the females hunt for the next two months while the males remain with the eggs.

Penguins are flightless seabirds. Excellent swimmers and good divers. Clumsy on land and flexible in the water. An interesting way of life, habits, history of these unusual birds. They became the heroes of numerous cartoons and films, models for toys and works of art. Where do penguins live? You can hear different answers to this question. Let's seek the truth.

Where do penguins live?

There are six genera and sixteen species of penguins (some sources call the number eighteen). Place of residence at various kinds different. Nevertheless, it is possible to designate a common thing for all penguins of the world.

Firstly, these birds are rarely seen far from the coast, in the open ocean. True, in the western part of the Atlantic sector of Antarctica, penguins are often found outside the coastal zone.

Secondly, each species of waterfowl has a delineated nesting area. And they almost never go beyond it. Although there are exceptions to every rule.

Thirdly, these amazing birds are found only in the Southern Hemisphere. The question of whether penguins live in the Arctic is irrelevant. This is the same as asking if tigers live in Africa. By definition, neither penguins nor tigers can be in the named places. There is no ecological niche for these sea birds in the Arctic.

Where do different types of waterfowl live?

emperor penguin. The largest in the order of penguins. Habitat - the coast of Antarctica and adjacent waters.

Royal. Very similar to the imperial, but a little smaller. In both species, orange spots are visible on the sides of the neck, similar to large quotation marks. The royal and the front of the neck are orange. Royal birds nest in the temperate zone, on islands scattered in the Southern Ocean.

Papuan. The name of this species is incorrect, since gentoo penguins do not live in New Guinea. They breed on the Antarctic Peninsula and nearby islands. These birds can be distinguished by a white stripe on the crown of the head, passing from eye to eye.

Adele. Most known species, which got its name thanks to the beautiful wife of the leader of the French Antarctic expedition D "Urville. This is a typical penguin with a dark tailcoat and a head and a snow-white chest. His eyes are framed by a white ring. There are no similar species. Its habitat is the coast of Antarctica and the region of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Antarctic. It has a peculiar dark hat with a dark strap going to the chin. Breeds in the area of ​​the Antarctic Peninsula and Antarctic islands.

Penguin Humboldt, or Peruvian. It owes its name to an outstanding German geographer. Lives along the Peruvian coast in southbound, up to about 38° south latitude. It is distinguished by white horseshoe-shaped spots passing through the back of the head above the eye on upper part chest, and a dark stripe intercepting the white chest.

Magellanic view. Lives on the Pacific coast South America(in its southern regions), from the Atlantic side of South America in temperate waters and on the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands. From the Humboldt bird there are two dark stripes intercepting the white chest.

Donkey, or spectacle. This is the only species that lives on the southern coast of Africa. He received his eloquent name for an unpleasant and loud cry.

Galapagos. Outwardly similar to Magellanic. Location: Galapagos Islands. There are no other species of these birds.

Crested. It has exotic golden tufts of feathers sticking out on its head. Breeds on many islands in the Southern Ocean (in the temperate zone). It differs from its counterparts in the manner of movement: it is repelled by both paws at once. Yes, and he dives unusually: he jumps into the water as a “soldier”. For this, the crested is called "jumping on the rocks."

Golden-haired. There are more golden feathers on his head than on a crested one. His "hair" starts from the middle of his eyes and goes down to his back. The golden-haired waterfowl breeds near the Antarctic Peninsula and on the islands of the Indian Ocean and Atlantic zones of the Southern Ocean, in temperate regions.

Penguin Schlegel. Has the same golden "hair". It differs only in the white sides of the head. Lives on Macquarie Island, just south of the New Zealand Plateau.

crested snare, big crested and Victoria penguin. We combined them, since all these species live south of the Cook Strait, in the New Zealand area.

Yellow-eyed, or magnificent. It has a yellow stripe running from eye to eye across the crown. It lives in the southern part of the New Zealand region.

Blue penguin, or small. His height is about forty centimeters. Lives on the Chatham Islands, the south coast of Australia and near the main New Zealand islands.

White-winged. It has a bluish top and a white bottom. Breeds only off the eastern coast of New Zealand.

How long do penguins live?

The life expectancy of different species is slightly different. In addition, the chances of survival in wild nature in large adults it is higher than in small-sized penguins. Yes, big imperial birds can live for more than twenty-five years. And their smaller brothers (for example, the magnificent penguin, Adelie, Magellan) live about ten to twelve years.

On average, sexual maturity in seabirds occurs at the age of three to five years. Pairs incubate one or two eggs for thirty to forty days. Already at this stage, the future generation is in danger. Various birds, feral cats and other predators can hunt for eggs.

The chances of survival in the first twelve months are also quite low. So, during the first year of life, about half of all Adele chicks die. And the reason is not only in the numerous predators, but also in the lack of food, insufficient reserves of fat accumulated during the period of residence in the colony. Perhaps the parents were not very successful at hunting. Therefore, the chicks are not fed.

It has been observed that penguins live longer in captivity than in freedom. Here they are not threatened by predators and are provided with food.

Perhaps the most amazing birds on our planet are penguins. Interesting Facts about these cute creatures we will present to you in this article. This is the only bird that swims beautifully, but cannot fly. In addition, the penguin can walk in vertical position. This is a flightless bird belonging to the penguin order.

Habitat

Huge territories, mainly in cold regions southern hemisphere These are the places where penguins live. The largest populations are recorded in Antarctica. In addition, they feel quite comfortable in South Africa and southern Australia. Almost the entire coastline of South America is the territory where penguins live.

Name

The origin of the name of these birds has three versions. The first explains it by a combination of the words pen - "head" and gwyn - "white". It once referred to the wingless auk (now extinct). Since these birds are similar in appearance, the name was transferred to the penguin.

According to the second version, the penguin got its name from English word pinwing, which translates as "hairpin wing". According to the third version, the name of the bird comes from the Latin pinguis, which means "fat".

Types of penguins

Do you know how many species of penguins live on our planet? Modern classification these birds are grouped into six genera and nineteen species. We will introduce you to some of them in this article.

emperor penguin

The largest and heaviest bird: the weight of the male can reach 40 kg, and the body length is about 130 cm. The plumage is black on the back, the abdomen is white, and on the neck you can see characteristic spots of bright yellow or orange color. Emperor penguins are inhabitants of the Antarctic.

king penguin

Outwardly, it is very similar to the imperial one, but somewhat inferior to it in size: its body length is about 100 cm, and its weight does not exceed 18 kg. In addition, this species has a different color - the back is covered with dark gray, sometimes almost black feathers, the abdomen is white, and bright orange spots are located on the sides of the head and on the breast. These birds live in the coastal waters of the Lusitania Bay, on Tierra del Fuego, the South and Sandwich Islands, Kerguelen and Crozet, Macquarie and South Georgia, Prince Edward and Heard.

Adelie penguin

Medium sized bird. Its length does not exceed 75 cm, and its weight is 6 kg. The back of Adele is black, the belly is white. A feature of this species is a white ring around the eyes. These birds live in Antarctica, as well as on the islands adjacent to it: Orkney and South Shetland.

Northern crested penguin

A species that is currently under threat of extinction. This is a small bird about 55 cm long and weighs 3 kg. The back and wings are gray-black. The belly is white. Yellow eyebrows merge into tufts of bright yellow feathers located to the side of the eyes. On the head of the penguin is a black crest, which gave the name to the species.

The main part of the population inhabits the islands of Impregnable and Gough, Tristan da Cunha, which are located in the Atlantic Ocean.

Golden-haired penguin

The body length of this penguin varies within 76 cm, weight - just over 5 kg. Color - typical for all penguins, but with one feature: above the eyes there are unusual bunches of golden feathers. Golden-haired penguins inhabited the southern shores of the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic, and are slightly less common in the north of Antarctica, as well as on the islands of the Subantarctic.

External features

On land, this unusual bird, which cannot fly, looks somewhat awkward due to the structural features of the limbs and body. Penguins have a streamlined body shape with well-developed pectoral keel muscles - often it makes up a quarter of the total mass of the bird.

The body of the penguin is well-fed, slightly laterally compressed, covered with feathers. The head is not too large, located on a flexible and mobile, but short neck. The beak of these birds is strong and sharp.

Interesting facts about penguins are related to their structure. In the course of evolution and lifestyle, the wings of the penguin have changed and turned into flippers: underwater, they rotate in the shoulder joint like a screw. The legs are thick and short, with four toes, which are connected by swimming membranes.

Unlike most birds, the legs of the penguin are noticeably shifted back, which forces the bird to keep its body strictly vertical when on land. A short tail, which consists of twenty hard feathers, helps the penguin to maintain balance: the bird leans on it if necessary.

Another interesting fact about penguins is that their skeleton is not made up of hollow tubular bones, which is usually characteristic of birds. Their bones are more like bones marine mammals. For thermal insulation, penguins have a solid supply of fat, its layer reaches three centimeters.

The plumage of penguins is thick and dense: short, small feathers cover the bird's body like tiles, protecting it from getting wet in cold water.

Lifestyle

Penguins are underwater in search of food. long time, plunging to three meters in depth and overcoming distances of about thirty kilometers. It's amazing how fast penguins swim - it can reach 10 km per hour. Representatives of some species can dive to a depth of 130 meters. When penguins do not enter the mating season and do not nurse offspring, they move away from the coast for quite long distances (up to 1000 km).

To speed up movement on land, the penguin lies on its belly and quickly slides over snow or ice, pushing off with its limbs. This method of movement allows birds to reach speeds of up to 6 km / h. V vivo a penguin lives for about twenty-five years. In captivity, with proper care, this figure increases to thirty.

What do penguins eat?

For one hunt, the penguin makes from 190 to 900 dives. The exact number depends on climatic conditions, penguin species, feed requirements. It is interesting that the bird's mouth apparatus is arranged according to the principle of a pump: it sucks medium-sized prey through its beak. During feeding, on average, birds swim about thirty kilometers and spend almost eighty minutes a day at a depth of more than three meters.

The basis of the diet of penguins is fish. But what do penguins eat (other than fish)? The bird gladly eats squids, small octopuses and small mollusks. The young feed on semi-digested food that their parents regurgitate from their stomachs.

How do penguins sleep?

The answer to this question is of interest to many of our readers. Penguins sleep standing up, keeping their body temperature during sleep. Interesting facts about penguins are associated with this state of birds. The time they spend sleeping is directly dependent on the air temperature - the lower the temperature, the shorter the sleep. Birds sleep longer during molting: during this period they eat little, and extra sleep allows them to reduce their energy consumption. In addition, penguins sleep while incubating eggs.

It turns out that not all penguins are cute and harmless creatures. For example, stone penguins are endowed with a rather aggressive disposition. They can attack any object they don't like.

Penguins don't need fresh water- they are drinking sea ​​water, because they have special glands that filter out salt.

During the mating season, expressing his tender feelings, the male spectacled penguin strokes his chosen one on the head with his wing.

The legs of penguins do not freeze, because they have a minimum number of nerve endings.

Everyone knows penguins - these unusual birds. With as if wearing a tailcoat on the body and red paws and beak, these beauties are very popular and loved.

Moreover, the general majority of people think that penguins live exclusively in Antarctica. However, this is not entirely true, the thing is that there are as many as 18 species of penguins and only 3 of them live directly in Antarctica and its coastal waters. But first things first.

Currently living penguins are flightless but good swimmers. In the water, penguins move very quickly - about ten kilometers per hour. But on land they are clumsy, and although the webbed feet help the penguins to stay straight, they move along the ground at a speed of only a few kilometers per hour, but at the same time they are able to cover distances of up to 100 kilometers.

The harsh conditions in which some species of penguins live force them to stray into numerous flocks and even colonies. During a severe cold and blizzard, the birds cling to each other, keeping warm.
These birds feed mainly on fish - sardines, anchovies, silverfish. And some species prefer shrimp and shellfish. Birds drink sea water.

Where do they live?

And so where do they live, these same penguins. Many of us, sometimes even for a minute, but still have a doubt, but where in the Arctic or Antarctic? But there should be no doubt - penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere and only the Southern, and not only in the icy Antarctic and its coastal waters. Their habitat is a very large area - this is southern part Australia, and New Zealand, and South Africa, the coast of Peru, and even the Galapagos Islands, where it is more than warm. But to be more precise...

1. Directly in Antarctica and its coastal waters, only two species of penguins live in our time - these are Adélie, Antarctic and Imperial.
2. King penguins, as well as Magellans, inhabit the islands - South Georgia, the South Sandwich Islands, Tierra del Fuego, Macquarie, Hurd, Crozet.
3. Crested penguins live on the islands of Tasmania and off the coast of Peru.
4. Victoria penguins or thick-billed penguins live on the Stewart Islands and on south coast New Zealand.
5. Golden-domed - inhabits the southern parts of Chile, as well as the islands Tierra del Fuego and Falkland.
6. Little penguins live on the coast of South Australia and New Zealand.
7. The main habitat for the Magnificent Penguins was the Campbell Archipelago, Bounty Island and Macquarie Island.
8. Schlegel penguins also live there on Macquarie.
9. Galapagos penguins, as the name implies, live in the Galapagos Islands.
10. Humboldt penguins live on the coast of Chile and Peru.
11. Papuans live in the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the Kerguelen archipelago.
12. Spectacled penguins - the coast of South Africa and Namibia.

Does the penguin live in captivity?

Penguins are great creatures and breed very well in zoos. Moreover, it has been established that in captivity, these birds live much longer.

Most likely, simply because in the wild, penguins have a very harsh lifestyle that clearly does not contribute to life extension - prohibitively low temperatures, difficulties with food, and simply an incredible number of enemies - predators for which penguins are a means of subsistence.

That is why today special nurseries began to be created, the main purpose of which is to contribute to an increase in penguin populations.

In nature, polar bears and penguins live on opposite sides from the equator: bears - in the polar regions of the northern hemisphere, penguins - in the waters of Antarctica, off the coast of New Zealand, South America.

The similarity between them is that both live in the coldest regions of the Earth.

Where and how do polar bears live?

Polar bears settled in the northern territories of Russia, Canada, the USA, on the coast Barents Sea, Chukotka, Wrangel Island, Greenland, on the lands of Lapland. When the weather is favorable, the animals reach North Pole.

Even the Arctic desert has become their habitat - the zone Arctic deserts, where in winter the temperature can drop to -60 °С, and in the warmest time of the year, in July, it rises only to +3 °С.

For most of the year, hurricane-force icy winds blow there, snowstorms are frequent, and in the harsh Arctic summer, at almost constant 0 ° C, gray clouds cover the sky, and fog from the ocean envelops the land. There is no vegetation in the Arctic deserts, with the exception of rare islands of lichen and moss. No animals except polar bear, arctic fox, lemming on land, and in the sea - walrus and seal.

How do bears survive in the Arctic wilderness?

They have adapted perfectly to the merciless climate!

The polar bear, also known as the polar bear, umka, oshkuy, is the largest land predator on the planet. Scientists and travelers have observed animals up to 3 m in length and over 1 ton in weight.

Layer subcutaneous fat in a bear - up to 10 cm, and together with internal (“internal”, as they say in the north) fat, it makes up about 40% of body weight. With such a “heater” and at the same time a “stove” (fat is the main energy supplier in the body), the umka is not afraid of the monstrous frost of the Arctic, its storms and winds.

To match the fat layer and the fur of a polar bear. It has a special structure: white translucent villi let in only ultraviolet rays and do not let in infrared radiation, preventing the animal's body from cooling down. The villi resemble tubules - inside they are hollow and are air chambers, which serves as another barrier to cold air. The fur grows even on the soles of the animal: in such "boots" the animal does not slip and does not freeze.


The unique thermal insulation allows the predator to live quietly on the snow and overcome tens of kilometers of the Arctic deserts and literally icy Arctic waters.

Where and how do penguins live?

Seven species of penguins - emperor, Adélie penguin, Antarctic, royal, golden-haired, gentoo and crested - have chosen even more severe territory - Antarctica, the polar regions of the Southern Hemisphere - as their place of residence. At the South Pole recorded in December 2013 the most low temperature on Earth - -91.2 ° C. And on average, the temperature of Antarctica in winter is -60 ° C, in summer - -30 ° C.

But, of course, land birds penguins do not live in such monstrous conditions. So, crested penguin lives on Tierra del Fuego, Tasmania, the islands of the Subantarctic. The endemic of the Snares archipelago - the Snares crested penguin - lives on islands that are densely overgrown with shrubs and trees. Subantarctic penguin - in the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, Kerguelen, Heard and others.

The largest and fattest birds are emperor penguins, which weigh an average of 40 kg, are distributed south to South Pole, farthest and live on the ice surrounding Antarctica. Only for incubation of eggs do they float away to more warm places.

How do penguins stay warm in Antarctica?

flightless birds in “black tailcoats” they adapted to live, if not in severe cold, like polar bears, but in constant “coolness”, when in summer the temperature often does not rise above + 5 ° C, and in winter it is predominantly -30 ° C.

They have a thick layer of fat - up to 3 cm, dense waterproof feathers, between which there is a lot of air - an "air chamber". But the most interesting thing is the paws of the penguins! They not only do not freeze, but also do not freeze to ice, snow.

Completely naked - without feathers, fluff - penguin paws have a temperature of only +4 ° C. Such a physiological setting allows you to endure severe frost as a norm. At the same time, the body temperature of the bird is 39 ... 40 ° C. wise nature provided the penguins with a unique mechanism of blood circulation, organized according to the principle of reverse outflow.

With it, hot arterial blood, on the way to the paws, passes very close to the veins and gives off part of its heat to the already cold venous blood. Venous blood carries heat back to the heart, and cooled arterial blood goes to the paws, maintaining only +4 ° C in them. If the paws of the penguins were hot, they would freeze very quickly, but first they froze into the ice, killing the bird.


Another mechanism of protection from the cold - groups. So, emperor penguins gather in a dense group, heating the air inside it to +35 ° C, when it is -20 ° C outside. Penguins "circulate" in the group, moving from the center to the edge and back.