How long do penguins live?
Penguins are flightless birds found in Antarctica and other places of the Southern Hemisphere. With their distinctive white and dark plumage, these animals are quite popular among kids and adults as well. They are featured in many animation movies and TV shows.
Species of penguins
Science was able to determine 17 distinctive species of penguins. The smallest penguin is the little blue penguin/fairy penguin while the largest species is known as the emperor penguin. Some other popular penguins include king penguin, snares penguin, Galapagos penguin and Northern rockhopper penguin.
Penguins facts
All penguins are warm-blooded and have feathers and circulate oil to keep themselves safe from the effects of water during low temperatures. Penguins are fond of water and they use the water to find food.
Even though penguins are usually living in the cold area, some of them are found in temperate zones like the Galapagos penguin, which obviously lives on the Galapagos Islands.
Unlike many animals, penguins are not afraid of humans. As a matter of fact, most penguins approach people when they see them. One explanation is the fact that penguins live safe lives at least when it comes to land predators. Tourists are advised to keep a distance of three meters between them and the penguins because a closer encounter makes them nervous and unpredictable.
Penguins lifespan
Due to the fact that penguins are wild animals and live in areas that are not close to civilization, it is a little bit difficult to determine how long they live. On top of that, each species has a different lifespan. Generally speaking, penguins live between 10 and 20 years. However, there are cases when penguins reached 25 years.
It was confirmed that the Emperor penguin, which as we said before is the largest penguin species, lives between fifteen and twenty years. On the other hand, Adelie penguin can reach 20 years easily. Of course, we are talking about penguins in captivity.
As we all know, there are penguins that live in captivity too. These penguins are found in zoos, sanctuaries, and other facilities. What all of these facilities have in common is that the people who work there provide special care to penguins. As a result of that penguins tend to live longer in captivity.
There are many cases when penguins die due to starvation. In addition, malnutrition can reduce their life expectancy too. When they are in captivity they get a balanced diet that includes some of their favorite foods like krill, squids, and fish. In addition, when they are in captivity, they have guardians that make sure that they get enough exercise in order to remain flexible. In this way, they keep their vitality at a high level too.
Another reason why penguins live longer when they are held in captivity is the fact that they are not exposed to predators. The main predators that kill penguins are leopard seals, the orcas, and sharks. In the end, many penguins die when they are young because of the harsh conditions in the Antarctic, this is something that can’t happen when they are in captivity.
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