Category Archives: Penguins

A Penguin is Running for Office

Yes, you can vote for Earth!  She is a penguin and is running for office! Yes, a penguin is running for office.  She moved to the United States because the ice is melting in Antarctica.  Since she cares deeply about the environment, and all of us, she decided to take action.  Please visit her website and learn about work and health matters.  She is a really cool penguin.  I am certainly going to vote in November.  Join us, and her!  Thank you.

https://earthforamerica.com/?segment=web_homepage

A Penguin Swims 5,000 Miles to See This Man

man-saves-penguin-returns-swims-5000-miles-18Let me introduce you to Dindim, a South American Magellanic penguin.  He swims 5,000 miles every year to see his special friend.

In 2011 Joao Pereira de Souza found Dindim, covered in oil and close to death.  For 11 months Souza nursed the penguin back to health.  Dindim has now been visiting his friend every year for the past four years.  Souza, a retired bricklayer and fisherman, lives in Brazil.

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Do penguins have emotions?

EmperorPenguinFeedingChickbOne of my nieces asked me why I did not have any penguin photos on my website. I told her I would put one up for her. When I found this photo I was awestruck by its beauty. It shows a parent feeding and caring for its chick. In so many ways, animals and penguins are like us. They nourish and protect their offspring, seek shelter from inclement weather, and experience a wide range of emotions.

Just like humans, animals experience fear, pain, desire, hunger, panic, embarrassment, and other emotions. If you have a cat or a dog, I am sure you have witnessed times when your pet felt happy or sad. And you have probably seen your pet curiously look around for the ball which was rolling around on the floor or for the piece of string hanging from your curtains. A penguin will not do those things but will surely let her mate know if their chick is not doing well.

Did you know there are about seventeen to twenty different kinds of penguins? Some, like the emperor penguins in the photo, are almost 4 feet tall and weigh 77 pounds or more. Others, such as the little blue penguin, are much smaller and stand 16 inches tall and weigh only 2.2 pounds.

Penguins eat fish, krill, crabs, squid and other seafood they catch while swimming. And to compensate for all of the salt water they swallow, they have a supraorbital gland just above their eye. This gland filters the salt from the bloodstream and out through the bill. Wouldn’t it be neat if we could do the same?

Sadly, climate change is affecting penguins. Krill stocks are declining because of warming waters. As the ice retreats and krill populations fall, penguins have to spend a lot of energy to find food. This makes it harder for them to raise their young and breed.

Parents, worldwide, strive to protect and provide for the well-being of their children. We provide shelter and food, and a nourishing environment. Penguins do the same for their offspring. Yet, they need our help. We must make sure to protect the ocean waters from debris, chemical spills, exploitation and degradation. Our choices affect them. Remember, penguins have feelings too.