Although penguins are the representative creatures of Antarctica, they never seem to be far from our sight. Their cute shapes and movements, flightless wings, and funny behaviors are all topics that people like to talk about. Even so, you may not be very familiar with penguins. The following facts may greatly surprise you.
1. Most penguins are monogamous
Depending on the species, penguins take 3-8 years from hatching to maturity. When a penguin matures, it will enter the mating stage, looking for its own partner. Moreover, once they choose a partner, they will stay together for a lifetime and adhere to the principle of monogamy. Of course, this only represents most penguins. Some penguins do not follow this rule, such as emperor penguins. They just keep monogamy in one season, and then they will find another lover and continue monogamy with their next partner
2. Highly socialized animals
Penguins are highly socialized animals. It is common for a Penguin Group to contain hundreds or thousands of penguins, which makes them one of the most gregarious birds. Whether they are swimming or eating, they will be in groups and coordinate with each other. In the cold environment of Antarctica, they also hug each other to keep warm. In particular, chicks or penguin eggs will be protected in the center. Adult penguins will not suffer unfair treatment. On average, they will move every 30-60 seconds to ensure that every penguin can enjoy warmth. Through this process, each penguin can maintain a body temperature of at least 21 ℃.
3. Take fat as beauty
The researchers found that the fatter penguins were more popular during the mating season. When male penguins want to mate, they will swagger around and make a unique sound to attract the attention of female penguins. Female penguins are also very interesting when choosing their partners. They will touch each other's necks and pat each other with their fins to express their love. Researchers believe that the reason why female penguins prefer fatter male penguins may be that they are better able to take care of penguin eggs and newborn chicks.
4. Houses are more important than dignity
When building nests, penguins will draw a gully on the ground, and then build goose eggs on it. Once the snow melts and floods the surrounding area, these stones can also protect penguin eggs. Houses are more important than dignity. Among the penguins, there are often some lazy, opportunistic penguins who do not look for stones themselves, but steal the stones they have built to build their nests while waiting for other penguins to go out to look for stones. Sometimes they get caught and both sides fight.
5. Good swimmers
Penguins can't fly because they are creatures that have adapted to the sea. Generally speaking, a penguin spends half of its life in water and the other half on land. Therefore, penguins have very strong swimming ability. On average, a penguin can swim at a speed of 6-10 kilometers per hour, and the emperor penguin can swim at a speed of 12 kilometers per hour. At present, it is found that the Papua Penguin swims fastest. It can even reach a swimming speed of more than 30 kilometers per hour.
