They’re beloved throughout the world for their strange gait and their characteristic markings that appear as though they’re wearing tuxedos, and they even have two days of celebration in their honor. Set your sights on January 20 to celebrate Penguin Awareness Day!
Not Just a Formality
Although the origins of Penguin Awareness Day are difficult to pinpoint, penguins are fascinating creatures, so its no wonder people want to know more about them. Penguins do look as if they are always sporting tuxedos. That’s probably not because they are headed to a formal avian gala. The black and white look is actually to help them evade animals that would like to make them into a meal.
Black bodies as seen from above camouflage them from flying predators while moving through dark waters. Predators scoping the ocean from below are thrown off by the penguin’s white underbellies as they blend in with the sunlit surface of the water. Their tuxedo camouflage also helps penguins go more unnoticed as they hunt for their own fish dinner.
When it comes time to change their suit of feathers, it’s a very dramatic event. Most birds have adapted to lose their feathers slowly, or molt, but not penguins. They drop everything at once which is, in fact, called a catastrophic molt. Since they can’t swim very well without their feathers, they remain on the surface for for weeks, eating enough to triple their body weight while their new coat grows back.
Born to be Wild
We’ve all seen the endearing waddle of the penguin. Penguins are clumsy on land but brilliant swimmers in the ocean. They have an excellent adaptation that helps them zoom through the water: solid bones. Most birds have hollow bones which help them take to the sky more easily. Penguins have heavy, solid bones that act like a diver’s weight belt helping them to stay underwater.
With their densely packed, watertight feathers and thick layer of insulating blubber, they are perfectly suited for their wild lives in cold ocean waters. Blubber and heavy bones are also excellent for defense. When a penguin needs to duel with a competitor, those awkward wings become fierce flippers that can pack a wallop, and that feather-covered blubber is a great layer of protection from injury.
The penguin is a worthy animal to study every January and is deserving of much respect. Here is a funny little video for Penguin Awareness Day that shows them in some of their less graceful moments. We can all relate to this during these icy winter days in the Northern Hemisphere.
Related article: 5 Extraordinary Flightless Birds
Featured Image from Ian Parker/Unsplash
