10 Cool Facts About Penguins: Happy World Penguin Day!

penguins
Baby Emperor Penguin

1. There are 17-20 species of penguins worldwide.

2. The tallest penguin is the Emperor Penguin (3ft7in or 1.1m) which weighs 75lbs (35kg) or more.

3. The shortest penguin is the Little Blue Penguin or Fairy Penguin (16in or 40cm) which weighs 2.2lbs (1 kg).

4. Penguins have a thick layer of insulating feathers to keep themselves warm.

5. Penguins usually swim 3.7-7.5mph (6-12km/h) but have been clocked at 17mph (27km/h).

6. An Emperor Penguin has been measured to dive to 1,870 ft (565m) for 22 minutes.

7. Penguins can drink saltwater.

8. 1 in approximately 50,000 penguins are born with brown instead of black feathers (called isabelline)

9. A breeding colony can reach several hundred thousand penguins (King, Macaroni, and Chinstrap Penguins).

10. Only male Emperor Penguins solely incubate their eggs (other species share duties between females and males).