Every kind of bird is fascinating and beautiful, but people really love penguins! These popular flightless birds are perfectly adapted to life in the water, as elegant as seals under the surface but cute clumsy waddlers on land. If you’re thinking about buying a penguin footstool for your home, or as a gift for someone you love, here are some facts about penguins to help you enjoy your animal footstool even more.
Celebrity TV and movie star penguins
We found thirteen children’s TV shows starring penguins, including Pingu whose adventures in Antarctica with his family and friends have delighted millions of kids. Children love the Penguinese he speaks, which is why the show aired from 1986 to 2006 but remains just as popular. Then there’s The Penguins of Madagascar, a spin-off from Madagascar movies with penguin special agents Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private in starring roles.
Pablo is an animated series about an autistic boy who dreams up an imaginary world full of animal friends, including Tang the penguin,a hot choice on Cbeebies. The 1950s-60s cartoon penguin Chilly Willy probably started it all off, a little piece of genius from the same man who gave us the Woody Woodpecker cartoons. Oldies, but still goodies! Zou, Octonauts, Zoo Lane, the Happy Feet movies and TV series, plus Canadian-Japanese and Russian TV series all reveal just how well-loved these birds are.
Penguins can also be evil, and one of the most evil of all must be The Penguin in the Batman spin-off ‘The Penguin’ mini-series from 2024, where Oz Cobb, as the Penguin, makes a play to seize control of the crime world in Gotham. Starring Colin Farrell, Cristin Mirioti and Rhenzy Feliz, it is a spectacularly dark and wonderfully compelling watch.
So how about the real thing? Here are some cool penguin facts.
35 fascinating penguin facts
Penguins don’t tend to be scared of humans because they usually live in places humans don’t go
There are 18 species of penguin, from the big, tall Emperor Penguin to the Little Blue Penguin
Most penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere
There are more penguins in Antarctica than anywhere else
They also live in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and on South America’s Galápagos Islands
Most penguins live 15–20 years in the wild
The Emperor Penguin can each a grand old age of 50
Their streamlined bodies and flipper-like wings mean they’re excellent swimmers
Penguins can swim as fast as 15–25 mph
All types are black on the back and white on the front, camouflaging them from predators in the sky and water
Their feathers are densely packed and waterproof for great insulation in cold waters
Like most birds they shed and re-grow their feathers once a year.
Penguins are carnivorous
They like fish, squid, krill and other seafood
Emperor Penguins can dive more than 1800 feet to catch food
As highly social and lively birds they like to live in large groups
Their communities are called colonies, also ‘rookeries’
There’s safety in numbers from predators and bad weather
They talk and use body language to communicate
Penguins are more chatty during the mating season and when they’re parenting
Most penguins are monogamous for one breeding season
Some species, like the Emperor Penguin, stay together for years
Penguins lay 1–2 eggs a season
In some species the male keeps eggs in a special brood pouch on his feet to keep them warm while they incubate
Both parents typically take turns caring for the chick
The chicks are fed regurgitated food until they can catch their own
They’re great at keeping warm in cold weather thanks to the thick layer of blubber and dense feathers
Wen it is extra-cold they huddle together to keep the heat in
Now and again they swap places so everyone gets a chance to be warm
Seals, orcas and large seabirds like skuas pluck penguins from the ground to eat and feed their young
On land they and their babies can be attacked by rats, cats, and dogs
All penguins are under threat from climate change
The Galápagos Penguin and Yellow-eyed Penguin are in danger of extinction because of habitat loss, overfishing and pollution
A special gland near their eyes filters salt out of the seawater that gets in the eyes
Penguins waddle because of their short legs and upright body, which actually helps conserve energy
Meet all 18 types of penguin
Do you know your penguins? Here’s a list of every penguin species on earth.
Emperor Penguin – the biggest penguin – up to 1.2m high, lives in Antarctica, known for its magnificent size
King Penguin – second tallest – up to 0.9 meters tall, lives on Sub-Antarctic islands like South Georgia and the Falkland Islands, known for the bright orange patches on the neck and head
Adélie Penguin – 0.6m tall, lives on the Antarctic coastlines, known for their classic tuxedo looks and confident personality
Chinstrap Penguin – about 0.7m high – lives in and around the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic, featuring a thin black band under the head
Gentoo Penguin – 0.7 to 0.9m tall – lives on the Sub-Antarctic islands and the Antarctic Peninsula, known for their vivid orange-red beaks and white bonnets
Little Blue Penguin or ‘Fairy Penguin’– the smallest at just 33cm – lives along the coasts of New Zealand and south Australia, known for their blue-gray feathers
Magellanic Penguin – 0.6 m tall – lives in coastal Argentina, Chile and the Falklands, named after the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan with two black bands on the chest
Humboldt Penguin – 0.6m – lives in coastal Peru and Chile, named after the mighty Humboldt Ocean Current with one black band across the chest
Galápagos Penguin – 50cm – lives on the Galápagos Islands and the only penguin species found north of the equator, currently seriously endangered thanks to climate change
African Penguin – 0.6m – lives in coastal South Africa and Namibia, known for its donkey-like voice and nicknamed the Jackass Penguin
Rockhopper Penguin – 0.6m – lives on the Sub-Antarctic islands, known for crown-like yellow crests and the way they hop over the rocks
Macaroni Penguin – 0.7m – lives on the Sub-Antarctic islands and Antarctic Peninsula, known for their yellow crests
Royal Penguin – 0.7m – lives on Macquarie Island, Australia, a lot like the Macaroni penguin but with a white face
Snares Penguin – 0.6m – lives on the Snares Islands, New Zealand, with a thick yellow crest
Fiordland Penguin – 0.6m – lives in the Fiordland and Stewart Islands of New Zealand, known for being shy and for the bold white stripes on their faces
Erect-Crested Penguin – 0.7m – lives on the Bounty and Antipodes Islands of New Zealand, named for their erect yellow crests
Yellow-Eyed Penguin – 0.7m – lives in New Zealand, one of the rarest of all, known for their yellow eyes and band of yellow feathers around the head
Northern Rockhopper Penguin – 0.6m – Lives on Tristan da Cunha and Gough Islands, like their southern cousins but with different genetics so they evolved separately
Penguins – the ultimate specialist
Humans are the ultimate generalists, endlessly flexible. Our brand of intelligence lets us adapt ourselves to more or less any environment. Penguins are the ultimate specialist, specially adapted to thrive in some of the harshest environments on the planet. No wonder they’re so well known, so well-loved, and so precious. Respect to penguins!
Cute penguin footstools to celebrate your favourite bird!
Every kind of bird is fascinating and beautiful, but people really love penguins! These popular flightless birds are perfectly adapted to life in the water, as elegant as seals under the surface but cute clumsy waddlers on land. If you’re thinking about buying a penguin footstool for your home, or as a gift for someone you love, here are some facts about penguins to help you enjoy your animal footstool even more.
Celebrity TV and movie star penguins
We found thirteen children’s TV shows starring penguins, including Pingu whose adventures in Antarctica with his family and friends have delighted millions of kids. Children love the Penguinese he speaks, which is why the show aired from 1986 to 2006 but remains just as popular. Then there’s The Penguins of Madagascar, a spin-off from Madagascar movies with penguin special agents Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private in starring roles.
Pablo is an animated series about an autistic boy who dreams up an imaginary world full of animal friends, including Tang the penguin,a hot choice on Cbeebies. The 1950s-60s cartoon penguin Chilly Willy probably started it all off, a little piece of genius from the same man who gave us the Woody Woodpecker cartoons. Oldies, but still goodies! Zou, Octonauts, Zoo Lane, the Happy Feet movies and TV series, plus Canadian-Japanese and Russian TV series all reveal just how well-loved these birds are.
Penguins can also be evil, and one of the most evil of all must be The Penguin in the Batman spin-off ‘The Penguin’ mini-series from 2024, where Oz Cobb, as the Penguin, makes a play to seize control of the crime world in Gotham. Starring Colin Farrell, Cristin Mirioti and Rhenzy Feliz, it is a spectacularly dark and wonderfully compelling watch.
So how about the real thing? Here are some cool penguin facts.
35 fascinating penguin facts
Meet all 18 types of penguin
Do you know your penguins? Here’s a list of every penguin species on earth.
Penguins – the ultimate specialist
Humans are the ultimate generalists, endlessly flexible. Our brand of intelligence lets us adapt ourselves to more or less any environment. Penguins are the ultimate specialist, specially adapted to thrive in some of the harshest environments on the planet. No wonder they’re so well known, so well-loved, and so precious. Respect to penguins!