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Penguins: A look at their frozen kingdom

Issue #102 €2.50 / £200 / $3.00

Penguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere, especially in Antarctica.

Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have evolved into flippers. Most penguins feed on krill, fish, squid and other forms of sealife caught while swimming underwater. They spend about half of their lives on land and half in the oceans.

An emperor penguin family

The largest living species is the Emperor Penguin : on average adults are about 1.1 m tall and weigh 35 kg or more. The smallest penguin species is the Little Blue Penguin, also known as the Fairy Penguin, which stands around 40 cm tall and weighs 1 kg.

Penguins seem to have no special fear of humans, and have approached groups of explorers without hesitation. This is probably because penguins have no land predators in Antarctica.

Penguins Penguins

Penguins are popular around the world, primarily for their unusually upright, waddling gait and (compared to other birds) lack of fear of humans. Their striking black-and-white plumage is often likened to a white tie suit.

In the mid-2000s, penguins became one of the most publicized species of animals that form lasting homosexual couples.

A baby Fairy Penguin

Penguins generally do not fear humans