The Perseverance Penguin Project
All About Penguins!
Fun Facts, How to Help, and More
This page will continue to be updated with more information as we learn more about penguin conservation.
What causes homelessness for penguins and how can we help?
So although the issue is different for penguins, they're also losing their natural habitats. Unlike common conception, out of the 18 penguin types, only 5 of them are ever in Antarctica (only 2 live there all the time). Other than Antarctica, you'll see penguins on the coasts of Subantarctic Islands, Australia and New Zealand, South America, Africa, Falkland Island, and the Galapagos Islands. Still, even though the first thought of a threat to penguin habitats would be the melting ice in Antarctica due to climate change, humans have posed a danger to penguins in the more tropical habitats as well. Let's look into the details of all this.
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Climate change is probably the biggest threat to penguins, especially the Adélie and Emperor penguins, which live in Antarctica. More climate change means less ice, and less ice means it's harder for these penguins to get food and breed. Back in 2016, a study predicted that, by the end of the 21st century, about 60% of Adélie penguin colonies in Antarctica will decrease due to effects of climate change.
Climate change isn't just impacting the Antarctic penguins though, as the more intense and frequent storms resulting from climate change will likely affect Magellanic penguins— just in 2014, a study found that rainstorms and extreme temperatures were the leading causes of death for young Magellanic penguins from 1983 to 2010, which got worse as storms became more frequent.
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Besides climate change, illegally hunting the prey of penguins (such as krill, anchovy, and sardines) has decreased penguin population. The fishing of anchovies and sardines in Cape Town, South Africa resulted in a 60% reduction of the African penguin population between 2001 and 2013. Plastic pollution also is a threat to penguins, since, if a penguin eats enough plastic, the indigestible parts can build up in their gut and prevent the penguin from digesting food. Habitat degradation also is an issue, as the damaging of a penguin's nesting and/or living environment results in penguins having to share their habitat (which gets a bit cramped at best, or penguins die at worst).
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So what can people do to help?
Here are some suggestions straight from the Penguins International website:
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In terms of world sustainability:
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"Ensure any fish you purchase is from sustainable, well managed fisheries...
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Cut back on products packaged in plastic or plastic-based items...
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Make sure you are recycling whenever you can and disposing of other waste correctly...
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Reduce the meat you eat...
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Using public transport where possible...
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Arguably one of the most important points, use your voice! Support your politicians and community in their battles to strengthen climate change science."
These are really good points for reducing emissions and plastic that would harm the environment, which would also harm penguins.
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Of course, donating to an organization or "adopting" a penguin works too!
There's the Help Penguins Now Fund, which you can find on Penguins International: https://www.penguinsinternational.org/donate/
The Penguin Lady has a really good collection of sites where you can donate to particular places that have particular penguins, so if you want to support a specific penguin or area, this is super helpful: https://thepenguinlady.com/donate/
Here's where you can symbolically "adopt" an Emperor penguin from World Wildlife: https://gifts.worldwildlife.org/gift-center/gifts/species-adoptions/emperor-penguin.aspx
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Extra Resources:
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Penguins International How to Help Penguins Article:
https://www.penguinsinternational.org/2020/03/22/how-can-you-help-penguins/
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The 2016 Study about Adélie penguin population declining:
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I couldn't find the exact study, but here's the Washington Post story about the Magellanic penguin study:
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More on African penguins and fish:
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A good article that covers all this with more elaboration:
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/where-do-penguins-live.html
What are some quick penguin fun facts?
There are 18 penguin types. Here's some info on them!
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Adélie
In 1840, these penguins were discovered by explorer d’Urville, who named the penguin species after his wife, Adéle. These penguins live on Antarctica. They are relatively distinctive for their simple black and white appearance, but the white ring around their eyes makes them particularly noticeable. Adult Adélies tend to swim anywhere between 5 to 120 meters offshore to get food for their chicks; these feeding trips can last 72 hours!
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African
These penguins live... guess where? On the South African coast. They have a ton of black dot markings across their chests, which helps to individualize each penguin— each penguin's chest pattern is as unique as a human fingerprint! They have a bare patch of skin above each eye, which helps each penguin maintain a cool body temperature. These penguins can hold their breath for over 2 minutes and can dive over 400 feet deep!
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Chinstrap
Possibly the most abundant penguin, chinstrap penguins have an estimated population of 7.5 million breeding pairs. They're distinguished by the line beneath their chin, hence their name. It's sometimes called the "Stonebreaker Penguin," as this penguin's screech is so shrill that it could (supposedly) break stones. They live on Antarctica and the coasts of Argentina and Chile.
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Emperor
Meet the biggest penguin species. Adult emperor penguins tend to be about 4 feet tall! They stay in the regions of Antarctica. Their two layers of feathers are adapted to survive the harsh Antarctic climate, including weather that goes down to -50°C/-58°F and with winds of up to 200km/hr. They even gather in huddles to protect each other from the cold. When it comes to food, male emperor penguins don't eat for up to 4 months while they protect their egg, up until their partner returns with food!
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Erect-crested
These penguins are named for the crest (yellow part) that are erect (or that bristle up) over their eyes. You'll find these penguins on the coasts of Australia, New Zealand, the Antipodes, and the Bounty Islands. They practice a tough love towards their eggs. The first-laid egg is typically kicked out of the nest before they're hatched, as the second egg tends to be the larger chick and the one that survives. Erect-crested penguins can raise and lower their stiff crest feathers, something other crested penguins can't do!
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Fiordland
Although these crested penguins look very similar to other crested penguins, you can differentiate them by taking a look under their eyes. There are few white streaks appear under their eyes, so you know that it's definitely one of these if you see this on a penguin in the Fiordland region of New Zealand. Fiordland penguins are very shy with humans, so they tend to waddle away once they see people! Although some other penguin species that hatch two eggs tend to disregard the first egg, Fiordland penguins try to keep both of their eggs alive.
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Galapagos
Meet the only penguin species that can be found north of the Equator (at times)! These penguins live in the Galapagos islands, where cold water flows from Antarctica. To tell them apart from other non-crested tropical penguins, just look for the white stripe wrapping beneath their chin, from eye to eye. They have a few ways of keeping cool, including going into little caves/crevices for shade and hunching over to keep the sun off their feet!
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Gentoo
You might find these penguins in the sub-Antarctic islands, where they wear the unique stripe connecting their eyes with pride. They also have long tails that sweep the ground as they walk, giving them the most prominant tail of all the penguin species! They also tend to be quite romantic, with the male penguins offering pebbles to female penguins to show interest. They tend to stay with the same partner for the rest of their lives too.
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Humbolt
Humbolt penguins were named after the German scientist Alexander Von Humboldt, who explored Cuba, Mexico, and South America in 1799 (plus the water current that flows through their coast). You'll find them on the coasts of Peru and Chile. You can tell these penguins apart from their tropical relatives by the singular black stripe on their chest, plus the large amount of pink skin around their beaks. The sharp claws on their webbed feet help them climb their rocky terrain.
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Information on these penguins will be added soon, so stay tuned!
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King
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Little (Fairy) Blue
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Macaroni
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Magellanic
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Northern Rockhopper
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Royal
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Snares Island
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Southern Rockhopper
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Yellow-Eyed
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