Penguins

We've been learning all about penguins. Here are some interesting facts.

• Penguins are flightless birds.
• While other birds have wings for flying, penguins have flippers to help them swim in the water.
• Penguins spend around half their time in water and the other half on land.
• There are no penguins  at the North Pole, they mostly live in the Southern Hemisphere.
• Just like whales, penguins have a layer of fat under their skin called "blubber".  Overtop of this they are covered with fluffy "down" feathers.
• Emperor Penguins can stay underwater for around 20 minutes at a time.
• Interestingly once the female lays the egg they leave for the waters leaving their egg balanced on the male’s feet. This is because if the egg where to lay on the ground it would simply freeze over. 
• The females will leave to feed on fish and other food sources to build up supplies to feed the baby penguins once they return.
• Once they females return job roles are switched around and the males go off to the Antarctic Ocean to feed.
• This leaves the females to feed and protect the chicks from the cold climate.
• The baby penguins then stay with their mother for the next month until the male returns and they take turns in looking after the chick.