Today is World Penguin Day, happy World Penguin Day!
World Penguin Day falls on the 25th of April each year. It is a time to celebrate penguins, and raise awareness about these beautiful and funny animals.
Penguins are one of the most recognized wild animals, due to their distinguished walk, and charismatic appearance.
There is not just one type of penguin: there are between 17 and 19 different penguin species in the world, living in the wild today, according to the WWF.
This is a list of the penguin species:
. The Emperor Penguin
. The Southern Rockhopper Penguin
. The Macaroni Penguin
. Little Penguin
. Adelie Penguin
. Gentoo Penguin
. Chinstrap Penguin
. King Penguin
. Magellanic Penguin
. Yellow-Eyed Penguin
. African Penguin
. Galapagos Penguin
. Fiordland Penguin
. Humboldt Penguin
. Erect-Crested Penguin
. Royal Penguin
. Snares Penguin
. Northern Rockhopper Penguin
. Chatham Penguin
. Kumimanu Penguin
. Waitaha Penguin
. Kairuku Penguin
All of these animals can be found in the Southern Hemisphere.
Some species of penguins have already gone extinct, such as the Great Auk. The Great Auk became extinct during the 19th century.
Endangered Penguins
Sadly, there are other species of penguin that are at risk of going extinct.
It is estimated that 10 of the worlds penguin species are threatened with extinction today. The threat of extinction is facing many wild animals all over the world. Wild animals are threatened with extinction for various reasons - the loss of their habitats, hunting and global warming at the hands of humans.
Penguins face similar threats to their existence, the same as other wild animals do. One of the most significant threats to penguins, is global warming. Some species of penguins rely on sea ice for their survival.
Wild animals like penguins living in the Antarctic depend on sea ice for their survival because the sea ice helps them to hunt for food - without the sea ice, these animals cannot hunt for food, and therefore, they become threatened with climate change due to melting sea ice.
Therefore, one of the most significant threats for these animals is climate change.
But. It is not the only threat that they face. Penguins also suffer as a result of bycatch. Bycatch can lead penguins to accidentally get caught up in fishing nets - something that can cause them distress and suffering, but can also result in them dying too.
Penguins can end up drowning in fishing nets if they are caught in them - this also happens to other wild animals, and can be damaging for wildlife. What helps penguins and other wildlife, is when fishing nets are discarded responsibly, rather than being dumped into the ocean or sea.
Random Fact
The world's largest penguin is the emperor penguin.
How Can You Help Penguins?
You can help penguins by adopting one.
You can adopt a penguin with the WWF - here.