Fat Penguin Research Paper
Penguins are, in one word, clumsy. They fall over constantly as if they were newborns learning how to walk on their own. This can be observed by watching a video of penguins interacting with their environment. They topple over onto the hard rocks,and right themselves without any issues. It is easy to wonder if the animal is okay after tumbling off a cliff, and they usually are. The keys to their success are their unusually sturdy bones and fat bodies.
Since they are flightless birds, penguins have really, really sturdy bones. Most birds have light bones so they can fly with ease, but penguins do not have to manage flying, they have to deal with falling ten feet off of rocks. Penguins need to have a thick layer of fat to keep warm in the sub freezing water and this also helps them manage their rocky terrain by acting as as shock absorber. Penguins have adapted to their environment by simply being chubby and big boned. Studies have shown, however, that fat penguins fall over more easily than their slimmer counterparts and that is due to the way their center of gravity shifts after fattening themselves up. King penguins can not eat on shore and must store enough food to fuel themselves as they feed their children on land. This becomes an issue when they are threatened by a common predator, other birds. Since chubby penguins are unable to move as …show more content…
Emperor penguins, though not endangered, are rapidly losing their land and food supply due to the ice melting. Collectively reducing our environmental impact is one simple way to help penguins out of the precarious situation they've been placed in. Another issue plaguing penguins is illegal egg harvesting. PBS Nature claims the eggs of all seventeen species of penguins are protected and are illegal to harvest. In some places in the world penguin eggs are seen as a delicacy, but eating the eggs will do the birds more harm than good in the long
Since they are flightless birds, penguins have really, really sturdy bones. Most birds have light bones so they can fly with ease, but penguins do not have to manage flying, they have to deal with falling ten feet off of rocks. Penguins need to have a thick layer of fat to keep warm in the sub freezing water and this also helps them manage their rocky terrain by acting as as shock absorber. Penguins have adapted to their environment by simply being chubby and big boned. Studies have shown, however, that fat penguins fall over more easily than their slimmer counterparts and that is due to the way their center of gravity shifts after fattening themselves up. King penguins can not eat on shore and must store enough food to fuel themselves as they feed their children on land. This becomes an issue when they are threatened by a common predator, other birds. Since chubby penguins are unable to move as …show more content…
Emperor penguins, though not endangered, are rapidly losing their land and food supply due to the ice melting. Collectively reducing our environmental impact is one simple way to help penguins out of the precarious situation they've been placed in. Another issue plaguing penguins is illegal egg harvesting. PBS Nature claims the eggs of all seventeen species of penguins are protected and are illegal to harvest. In some places in the world penguin eggs are seen as a delicacy, but eating the eggs will do the birds more harm than good in the long