When is Penguin Awareness Day?
The 20th of January is celebrated worldwide as Penguin Awareness Day. This day is celebrated to raise awareness about the number of penguins in the world that is dramatically decreasing every day. This day also brings focus on the matter of conservation of penguin habitats.
No one really knows when the first Penguin Awareness Day came about or what made that person realize the importance of this animal’s future.
Why is Penguin Conservation Important?
Penguin conservation is a serious problem today. Penguins are threatened by climate change, oil spills, and being hunted for their meat. Today penguins are protected by many international laws restricting hunting penguins for any reason.
If you live in the southern hemisphere penguin awareness day is not celebrated on this date; however, penguins can be found at popular beaches around Australia and South Africa during the warmer months of the year! Make sure to say hi if you see one!
How You Can Celebrate Penguin Awareness Day
You can celebrate penguins on January 20th by wearing black and white, or a tuxedo to work, LOL!
Most people celebrate Penguin Awareness Day by watching a documentary about penguins or movies about penguins. You can also take some time to learn more about penguins and their habitat.
If you’re looking for a creative way to celebrate Penguin Awareness Day, why not have a “Penguin Party”? Invite your friends or family members and dress up in penguin-themed costumes or accessories. You can also decorate the party with penguin-related decorations such as paper streamers, balloons, and banners.
Serve up ice cream, seafood, and other cold treats as a nod to the chilly climate that penguins call home. If you have access to a projector or television, consider hosting a movie night with one of the many charming documentaries about these beloved birds.
Finally, spend some time discussing how we can all help protect penguin populations around the world by reducing ocean pollution, protecting their habitats, and becoming informed about the global conservation efforts that are currently in place.
Remember to snap lots of photos too! With a little effort, you can make Penguin Awareness Day a truly memorable event.
What is a Penguin?
Penguins are a group of adorable, aquatic, flightless birds. Almost all penguins can be exclusively found in the Southern Hemisphere, and there is only one species, the Galapagos Penguin, north of the equator.
Most penguins feed on fish, squid, krill, and other sea life that they catch while swimming underwater. They spend half of their lives in the ocean. There are 18 different species of penguins.
The largest species of penguins is the Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri), which can be 1.1 m tall and weigh up to 35kg. The smallest penguin in the world is the Little Blue Penguin (Eudyptula minor), which is 40 cm tall and weighs 1 kg.
Penguins can dive with speed as fast as 7.5 miles per hour.
Penguins take three to eight years to reach sexual maturity. The smaller breeds may begin breeding at the age of four, but the larger species will definitely need more time. Most species have an annual breeding season – spring through summer. The majority of them are monogamous. The average lifespan is 20 years.
Over the past 50 years, the number of Emperor Penguins has declined by 50%. Researchers have shown that a warm spell during the 1970s in the Southern Ocean is to blame.
Also, warmer air and sea surfaces in the Antarctic drastically reduce the amount of ice in the water. This results in smaller populations of krill and crustaceans, which are the main source of food for the Emperor Penguin.
Penguin Facts Loved by All!
Penguins are almost waterproof. There is a gland near the tail that secretes oils that cover their skin and act as a water repellent.
Male Emperor penguins can secrete a curd-like substance to be used to feed baby chicks if the mother is not around.
Penguins are sight hunters.
Penguins swallow their prey whole while swimming.
Penguins can’t fly.
Penguins are synchronized divers.
During the Emperor Penguin breeding season, the temperature may drop to -60 °C (-76°F) and winds may reach 200 kph (124 mph).
Penguins are equipped with powerful flippers that propel them through the water at up to 20 miles per hour!
Once ashore penguins spend most of their time on land moulting, or shedding their feathers , which grows back when they return to the ocean.
Most penguin species mate for life, although there are some exceptions!
Up until 2010 it was believed by penguin scholars that all penguins laid only one egg at a time ; however, photographic evidence has proven this wrong.
While penguins may look cute in cartoons they can be extremely aggressive animals in real life.
They sometimes fight over food using their sharp beaks, but luckily these fights rarely end badly because penguins have thick skin around their eyes that protects them from damage.
World Penguin Day is also a thing!
Don’t you agree that every day should be a penguin day?