Fun Penguin Facts For Kids

Penguins are neither mammals nor amphibians, and are considered social birds. They are charming and chubby, 14-41 in (38-106 cm) tall and weighing about 1.9-68 lb (0.9-31 kg). There are several wildlife photographers who love to study these birds. They are mostly spotted in the southern hemisphere including Angola, Antarctica, Argentina, Australia, Chile, Namibia, New Zealand, and South Africa. They have wings, but they are flightless birds. They use their wings for swimming and can not achieve flight. Penguins heads are more prominent than their neck, and some penguins also have a beautiful yellow patch on their heads. Yellow patches enhance their beauty. They are usually white and black with cute little blackish-gray feet. Penguins are pretty entertaining to observe, even if they are just walking. Penguins can live between six and 20 years. They usually prefer krill in their diet, but eat a variety of aquatic life. The average litter size of a penguin is one to two eggs per year.

Do check out our articles on birds of paradise or barn owl if you liked reading this article about penguins.

What type of animal is a penguin?

Penguins are known to be flightless aquatic birds.

What class of animal does a penguin belong to?

Penguins belong to the bird class. Although they are birds, they prefer living on land and water.

How many penguins are there in the world?

Most of the penguin species are found to be living in the southern and northern hemispheres. The current population of penguin species, also called flightless birds, is thought to be 2,500,000. This population, however large, is decreasing at a fast pace which is a huge matter of concern. Out of the 18 species of penguins, 11 are listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN (International Union of Conservation of Nature).

Where does a penguin live?

Penguins live close to oceans and sea areas, or on the cliffs above oceans. Penguins may shift to sturdier land during mating season.

What is a penguin's habitat?

Penguins (flightless birds) generally prefer living in the freezing temperatures of the southern hemisphere. They live on islands and remote continental areas where they are free from predators and can live safely. They are specialized marine birds that are designed in a way to adapt to living at sea and close to oceans.

Who do penguins live with?

They prefer living in groups known as colonies that keep them safe from potential predators. They don't like living in isolation.

How long does a penguin live?

The average life span of penguins is between six to 20 years depending upon the species. Little penguins live for six years, and emperor penguins live for around 20 years.

How do they reproduce?

Penguins are monogamous, meaning they mate exclusively with one partner throughout their life.

Emperor penguins mate in March or April, and they come to live on land during the breeding season. The average litter size of the emperor penguin is one egg per year. The female lays one egg in the months of May or June and then assigns the egg to the male. The females come back to feed the young while the male keeps the egg in his brood sack for around 65 days.

Other penguins species follow a similar routine, except the females lay two eggs, and both parents take turns to keep the eggs warm between their legs.

What is their conservation status?

15% of the 18 species are listed as Endangered, and 11 of the 18 species are Near Threatened.

There are so many species of penguins, and there are different conservation statuses for each species. adélie, chinstrap, gentoo, and king penguins come under the category of Least Concern. Emperor and magellanic penguins are considered Near Threatened while the Antarctic macaroni and southern rockhopper penguins are Vulnerable.

What do penguins look like?

Penguins are pretty famous for their adorable appearance and black and white coloring. They are known to have an elongated body with a large head. They also have a streamlined body which helps them to swim better and faster. They tend to have tiny toes which are webbed together, providing them with a better grip on the ground and helping them to walk more quickly. When it comes to the color of their body, they have white bellies with black bodies. Adults have a darker shade on the back and a lighter shade on the front. The lighter shade of the frontal body helps them stay camouflaged with the sea surface while they swim, which allows them go unnoticed by predators.

There are approximately 18 species of penguins, and all of them have a few features which help to distinguish one from another. For instance, the emperor penguin has a black head and a yellow patch on each side. King penguins have orange patches on the upper chest. Adelie penguins have distinct white eye-rings. Gentoo penguins tend to have white eyelids along with a triangular patch above the eyes.

How cute are they?

Penguins can be considered one of the world's cutest animals. There are so many penguin species in the world, and all of them have their own traits that make them look cute. A group, or set of penguins in water is known as a raft, and the same set of penguins on land are known as a waddle. A group of penguins look more appealing than a single penguin. Each penguin species have something different in them. Adélie penguins are known to be the cutest penguins among all.

How do they communicate?

Different penguin species have different ways of interacting with other. They use various signals to express their thoughts and emotions. They use different voices or visual demonstrations to communicate mating information, partner recognition, nest relief rituals, nesting territories, and defense against their predators.

How big is a penguin?

The average length of the penguin is 14-41 in (38-106 cm) and they weigh around 1.9-68 lb (0.9-31 kg). Penguins can live between six and 20 years depending on the species. They can grow to be about two times the size of an ordinary rabbit.

How fast can a penguin fly?

Penguins cannot fly, but they are excellent swimmers. Scientists discovered that penguins lost the ability to fly eons ago. But with the magic of evolution, penguins have gained incredible swimming skills using their black and white flippers, which help them survive underwater and catch fishes.

How much does a penguin weigh?

Penguins have different weights depending on which species they belong to, but on average, they weigh between 1.9-68 lb (0.9-31 kg). Their weight also depends on the breeding cycle. The smallest and the lowest weighing penguin is the little blue penguin, and the tallest and heaviest penguin is the emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forster). Emperor penguins have the heaviest feather density. They have around 100 feathers per square inch of skin.

What are the male and female names of the species?

Adult male penguins are usually known as cocks and female penguins are known as hens. Their group, when on water, is known as a raft and on land it is known as a waddle.

What would you call a baby penguin?

Baby penguins are known as chicks. Nestling and hatchling can also be used to describe their babies. Newborn penguins don't have feathers on their bodies, these are grown after a few weeks. They weigh around 0.6 lb (315 g) and can't swim until they grow up. They usually stand on their parents feet for protection.

What do they eat?

They are carnivores, and their food primarily includes krill. They also like to squid and fish. The adult penguin consumes 4-11 lb (2-5 kg) of food per day.

Are they dangerous?

Penguins are neither dangerous nor harmless. They are charming, adorable, and friendly to humans but can become aggressive depending on the circumstances.

Would they make a good pet?

No, they do not make good pets. Penguins require icy weather to survive, this is difficult to achieve in most places across the world.

Did you know...

There are various penguin species including adelie penguin, original penguin, chinstrap penguins and gentoo penguins. Penguins huddle together. They are known to have adapted well to the climatic conditions of Antarctica (underwater as well as on ice).

Penguins don't really cry. But they do look like they cry. They consume salty ocean water when they get too thirsty, but they need fresh water to survive. Therefore, they have developed a technique to secrete the highly salty water from their nose, making them seem as if they are crying, except through their nose.

Penguins do not really have teeth, but they have backward-facing spines in their mouth that may look like teeth. Penguins catch fish and swallow them whole.

Have you wondered if the penguin is a fish or a bird? They are birds, even though they spend their time on earth and water. Macaroni penguin, yellow-eyed penguin, and erect-crested penguin are a few rare species that have yellow-colored parts or feathers.

Why can't penguins fly?

The reason that penguins cannot fly despite being birds can be attributed to evolution. Scientists believe that in the past, penguins relied excessively on catching fishes in the ocean for survival which made sure that they developed flippers instead of wings. These flippers aided them with swimming efficiently. Penguins as a species never required flight for survival. Hence, evolution made sure they were given all that is necessary for better movement. Their body is streamlined and insulated to help them swim better in the icy waters of their habitat.

What do penguins do for fun?

Penguins are highly social birds. They enjoy themselves just by being part of group activities such as diving together in the ocean, catching fishes together, and huddling up with their colonies to keep themselves warm. They also enjoy nesting with their partners or taking care of their young chicks.

Even if they lose their partners, as the colonies can sometimes have more than a thousand penguins in them, they have a special call that can be used to call for their specific partner.

These activities with their groups, including the occasional encounter with a predator, keep them engaged throughout their lives.

How to draw a penguin?

Penguins can be easy creatures to draw. Let us begin. Let's start with its head by drawing a circle. Extend the curves if needed where their cheeks would be for added detail. Draw an oval for their body. Starting from their neck, draw the arms extending from their body. Draw their webbed feet starting from the bottom of their body. Add the necessary facial features such as eyes and beak. Add another oval within the body for the stomach area. Now, you can go right ahead and color your cute little penguin to complete the drawing.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other birds, including secretary bird or great green macaw.

You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing one of our multiple little penguins coloring pages.