With the release of the movie "Happy Feet", young kids have become fascinated with penguins. These extra dinky birds, that live in the coldest regions of the earth are pretty fascinating creatures. I have dug up 7 fascinating facts about penguins that you can share with your kids.
Birds Who Can't Fly
Legolive
Penguins are birds who are no longer able to fly, but are great swimmers and divers instead. Their wings have morphed into flippers and their torpedo-shapes body allows them to swim under water at high speeds. This also causes them to waddle on land.
Devoted Parents
Little baby penguins have two devoted parents. Unlike many other species, especially other birds, the fathers are very involved in the process of hatching the egg and taking care of the baby penguins. Mom and Dad will take turns warming the egg and searching for food.
All It Takes Is A dinky Body Heat
In the cold atmosphere that penguins live it, keeping the egg warm is an essential task for penguin parents. In some penguin species, the dads will balance the egg on their feed, surface it with their belly flap to keep the egg warm. When it gets very cold, all the dads huddle together to keep themselves and their eggs warm.
The extra Penguin Gland
Since penguins spend a good bit of their live in the ocean, they are permanently swallowing sea water. A extra gland behind their beak helps them filter out the salt from the water. They also eat snow as a source of fresh water.
Sleeping At Sea
Living on the ice can be quite dangerous, with natural predators lurking nearby each corner. Because of this many penguin species don't go back on the ice or dry land to sleep. Instead they take dinky naps in the water instead.
Huddle To Keep Warm
When male penguins stay on land to take care of the egg, they will huddle together to stay warm. Penguins rotate from the surface to the warmer inside of the huddle. This allows them to keep their body temperature high sufficient to incubate the egg until the baby penguin is born.
Using Sign Language
Penguins use a sign language of sorts to describe with each other. They will wave their flippers and move their heads to "talk" to other penguins in the group.
7 attractive Facts About Penguins You Can Share With Your Kids
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