PENGUINS ARE LOVING PARENTS

Photo by: David
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Penguins form a family of birds called Spheniscidae. They are very special species as they are aquatic birds with specific adaptations to swim. The inevitable consequence of these features is that penguins have lost the ability to fly. All the species of this family are found in the Southern hemisphere, except for the Galapagos penguin, which lives in the Northern hemisphere. Despite the mental image most of us have and although it is partially true, not all penguins live in extremely cold environments. Some species live in mild temperature areas, although it is only possible due to cold water currents originated in the Antarctic. Even though there are many interesting facts about penguins, today we are going to focus on their breeding process and their parental care.

Penguins have a very interesting breeding process, which is an exception to many rules of the animal kingdom.

Photo by: David Stanley
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

When the breeding season starts, penguins form colonies. These can vary in size, going from hundreds to hundreds of thousands of individuals, depending on the species. During this season, penguins establish monogamous couples. Sometimes, couples reunite in following breeding seasons, although the rates are unclear and vary greatly. Most penguin species lay two eggs, except for larger ones like the emperor penguin, which only lay one. Although most penguins lay two eggs, usually only one hatches and, if both do, normally just one chick survives to reach adulthood.

In most species, couples share their incubation responsibilities. The only exception to this, once again, is the emperor penguin, in which only the male incubates the eggs. In the vast majority of species, each member of the couple takes turns, which can last days, or even weeks. While one individual is taking care of the eggs or the chick, the other one feeds at the ocean, storing energy to face its next shift. When the feeding period is over, the two penguins can find each other thanks to their calls, which are unique to each individual.

Once the eggs hatch, the chicks reach full development in two or three weeks, as their growth is extremely fast. When they complete their first feather molting period, they become completely independent from their parents.

As you can see, penguins face many challenges during their parental care period. They spend days or weeks without eating to let their mates eat and restore energies, they stand still in the cold weather to ensure the survival of their progeny. In addition, they commit into monogamy to take care of their chicks. They are great loving parents.