Penguins! We love them, you love them, everyone loves them — these dapper little birds have long captured our attention due to their cuteness factor.
Unfortunately, we don’t get to see them often in our day-to-day lives, primarily because their natural habitat is a bit far away.
Whenever you do see a penguin, it’ll likely be in a zoo. Even when in a zoo, they’re probably kept in a cold enclosure. A penguin needs cold to survive, right? Why do they live in the cold?
Here Is Why Penguins Live in the Cold:
Some penguins live in the cold because that’s the way their habitat is — It offers them safety from land predators and provides ample food sources. However, not all penguins actually live in the cold!
Out of the 18 species of penguin, only two live solely in Antarctica. Three more live on subantarctic islands, and the rest are spread out through the Southern Hemisphere, with habitats ranging from desertic regions to rocky islands.
Do Penguins Have To Live in the Cold?
Penguins actually don’t have to live in the cold. The more famous penguins and those depicted in movies or commercials always live in snowy areas. This doesn’t reveal the whole truth, as penguins can survive in all types of environments.
The image of a penguin waddling along an ice shelf is a common one, but in truth, penguins can be found in various habitats. The Galapagos penguin, in particular, lives near the equator — not the first area you’d think to look for a penguin.
As they live the furthest north out of all the penguins, they have adapted to survive in the heat. They look for shaded areas, pant to cool themselves down, and hunch over with spread wings to keep their feet cool.
Another place you wouldn’t think to look for a penguin is a temperate rainforest, but they live there too. In New Zealand, the Fiordland-crested penguin lives in the forests of South Island and Stewart Island, and Snares penguins nest and breed in the dense Olearia forests on their namesake island.
There are also penguins that favor rocky islands and coasts — among them, the rockhopper penguin (can you tell how it got its name?), the little penguin, the African penguin, and the Magellanic penguin.
Lastly, did you ever think there would be penguins living in a desert?
Humboldt penguins make their home in the Atacama Desert along the coast of Chile and Peru. Although it is a coastal desert, so it’s not like the sandy expanse of the Sahara you’re thinking of, and they do have easy access to chilly waters. Despite that, it is still remarkable that these little guys and girls thrive there, adapting to the warmer climate with the bare skin patches around their eyes and beak to keep cool.
What Climate Do Penguins Need To Survive?
Penguins actually have the ability to survive and thrive in various climates, from freezing cold to warm or even hot weather climates. What is more essential to their survival is predators on land. In the water, they can hold their own incredibly well, however, on land, they are at their most vulnerable.
Penguins are a hardy bunch, surviving in climates ranging from the freezing temperatures of Antarctica to the desertic regions of Chile and Peru to the rocky shores of Africa, and even in the temperate rainforests of New Zealand.
What these areas have in common is a lack of a large number of land predators, as penguins are incapable of flight or fast movement over land. Under the sea, however, they are highly adept swimmers. The fastest species is the gentoo penguin, capable of swimming as fast as 22 mph!
Aside from a lack of land predators, another important aspect for penguin survival is access to nutrient-rich waters. Penguins spend up to 75% of their lives in the water, hunting for food such as krill, squid, and fish.
Lastly, penguins also need shelter and ample space to interact and reproduce. They are a very social species, and the colony sticks together to increase the chances of survival.
Penguin eggs and baby chicks are fragile — building nests for shelter and staying within a group helps ensure their safety.
How Do Penguins Protect Themselves From Cold?
Even if most penguin species don’t live in the freezing temperatures we think they live in, the ones that do are incredibly well-suited for the environment. Emperor penguins, one of the two penguin species living in Antarctica properly, can withstand temperatures as low as -94°F. Here’s how they do it:
Blubber
Their first level of defense is their thick layers of blubber, which provide insulation and help blood vessels react to changes in temperature. Their feathers also contribute — tightly-packed and oily, they can trap in air and help seal in warmth.
Blood Vessel System
Aside from keeping their body warm, they can keep their feet warm. Their blood vessel system reduces heat loss from their body, and keeping their feet a few degrees above the freezing temperatures of their surroundings prevents them from sticking to the ice.
Huddle Up Everyone
In addition, remember what we said about penguins being a highly social species? This also helps with surviving in the cold. Penguins have been observed huddling together in a group, crowding in to keep themselves warm.
This is a very social — and charming — form of thermoregulation. It helps them conserve heat even in the bitter cold and frigid wind. It has been observed that members of a huddle even take turns on the outside edges, shifting so that everyone gets a chance at warmth. Interestingly enough, all it takes to break one of these huddles is action from a single individual. This might happen because the huddle got too hot — sometimes, the conditions in the inner circle can reach as high as 100°F.
In The Water
Penguins are also well-suited to the chilly waters they swim in. Their distinctive black and white coloring is actually an ingenious form of camouflage called countershading.
When viewed from the top, their black bodies blend in with the dark depths of the ocean. When viewed from the bottom, their white bellies blend in with the sunlight filtering through the waves.
Their bodies are highly streamlined for swimming, with powerful flippers and oily feathers that allow them to easily cut through the water. They also have glands underneath their eyes that remove excess salt from their body after hours spent in saltwater.
All told, penguins are extremely good at protecting themselves from the cold and are some of nature’s most well-designed survivors.
Also Frequently Asked:
Do Penguins Live in Alaska?
Penguins do not live in Alaska. Alaska and Antarctica have one thing in common, and it’s that they both start with the letter A, not that penguins live there. Penguins living in Alaska is a common misconception, but the truth is that penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere, and Alaska is as far north as it gets.
Can Penguins Freeze to Death?
Tragically, yes, they can. Penguins might be well-adapted to their cold environment, but baby chicks are very susceptible to harsh weather. During times of increased rainfall, their downy feathers can get wet, and they can freeze to death.
Conclusion
Despite popular belief, penguins don’t solely reside in cold regions. They have a variety of habitats, spanning the South Pole to the equator. However, no matter the habitat, we need to keep in mind how climate change and human actions have threatened the survival of the lovingly called “tuxedo birds.” The Antarctic ice is melting, the ocean’s temperature is rising, and their food supply is being reduced through overfishing — if we don’t take the proper actions now, soon we won’t be seeing penguins in the cold, or at all.
Sources:
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/where-do-penguins-live.html
https://www.penguins-world.com/where-do-penguins-live/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/14-fun-facts-about-penguins-41774295/
https://phys.org/news/2015-12-penguin-huddling-complicated-thought.html
