15 facts (and pictures!) that prove penguins are the world’s most adorable animals

Contrary to media representations of the North Pole, no penguins live up there. The 17 penguin species (some scientists say there are 20) are spread out between Antarctica, Argentina, Australia, Chile, New Zealand, and South Africa. The only exception is the Galapagos penguins, who live close to the equator on the Galapagos Islands and occasionally venture into northern hemisphere waters.

An amateur fossil hunter discovered the bone of an extinct penguin ancestor, and scientists say it’s 61 million years old. That means it probably outlived the dinosaurs that went extinct 65.5 million years ago. Fossils also suggest that this prehistoric bird could fly and could grow up to 150 centimetres tall.

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Penguins are carnivores, and their diets consist of fish, krill, crabs, squid, and other sea creatures. According to Smithsonian Magazine, they can eat over one kilogram of food every day during summer months, but eat only a third of that during the winter.

Their sneezes serve an important purpose, though. Because they eat so much seafood, penguins also consume a lot of saltwater. To get rid of all that salt, their supraorbital glands above their eyes filter it out of the bloodstream, and then, the penguins excrete it through their bills or their sneezes.

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Little blue penguins (also called fairy penguins) really are little. They only grow to be 33-38 centimetres tall, and adults only weigh one kilogram.

They’re around 120 centimetres feet tall and can weigh up to 40 kilograms.

No, these adorable birds can’t fly. Instead, they use their wings to fly through the water (so to speak) at speeds up to 40 kilometres per hour.

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Penguins’ bodies are shaped to easily glide through water, with a long body and short legs. So when they walk, the result is a clumsy-looking waddle. Penguins also get around on land by hopping and tobogganing, where they glide on their bellies and use their feet and wings to gain speed.

According to Ocean Conservancy, penguins spend about 75 per cent of their lives in water. They go on land to mate, lay eggs, and raise their babies.

They’re called chicks or nestlings. They form little groups called crèches to look out for predators and keep each other warm while their parents look for food.