A Penguin’s Life
The Antarctic Peninsula is home to hundreds of penguin colonies scattered across countless snowy and mountainous islands.
Penguins are flightless pelagic birds that are highly adapted to their life in the water.
Their wings have evolved to be rigid and function like flippers to propel them at up to 22 mph in the water.
The two species in this portfolio are the chinstrap which is easily recognized by its iconic markings, and the gentoo which is identified by the orange bill and white patches behind the eyes.
All penguin species have complex courting rituals that build strong bonds between mates.
These courting rituals involve bowing and vocalizing with each other and many penguin species ‘gift’ pebbles.
The males ‘gift’ pebbles to the females which are then used to make a nest.
Since eggs cannot be laid on the snow, pebbles are an important ritual that ensures the eggs are viable.
Penguin society is egalitarian. Once the egg is laid, the parents take equal turns sitting on the nest while the other feeds at sea - sometimes for days at a time.
This equal sharing of parental duties continues until the end of the season when the chick is fully independent and takes to the sea on its own.
Most penguin species do not mate for life, but they are serially monogamous.
This means that most penguin pairs remain devoted to one another while raising their chicks, but next season they will likely have new partner.
While feeding at sea, both Gentoo and Chinstrap penguins ‘porpoise’ in order to reduce drag as well as confuse potential predators like the leopard seal and orca.
While its rare for wildlife to benefit from climate change, warming temperatures mean the snow at colony sites melts faster.
More exposed rock means more surface area for nesting and longer breeding seasons.
Because of this, both Gentoo and Chinstrap penguins have expanded their habitat in recent years.
This makes them one of the rare climate change winners - at least in the short term.
The success of these two species, however, is not experienced by all penguins. Warming is having devastating impacts on species who live in warmer climates like the African penguin who struggle to cope with ever increasing temperatures.