What Does A Penguin’s Body Cover?
Penguin body cover
Feathers cover the body of the penguin (in English: Penguin) as one of the types of birds, However, these feathers have a different nature than those carried by the rest of the birds. It is very small and almost sticky together, which protects it from water penetrating its body while swimming, thus keeping it dry and warm.
Feathers cover the entire body of the penguin and range in color from white to black . Under the outer layer of feathers, it also has another layer of fluffy feathers, which in turn covers the layer of fat under its skin, which also keeps the penguin warm.
The importance of the penguin’s body covering
The importance of the penguin’s body cover is as follows:
Streamlining when swimming
The penguin uses the muscles attached to the feathers when swimming, in addition to being able to flexibly control the dorsal-ventral feathers; This allows it to bend to conform to the shape of the body easily when the water pressure and rush increases.
Protection from air and water
The penguin’s feathers are very short and stiff compared to the feathers of other birds, and they consist of an outer layer and a very fine and soft inner layer, where the feathers are close to each other and very overlapping, which makes it a protective barrier that envelops the entire body of the penguin to protect it from air and water.
For further clarification; The penguin’s feathers are evenly distributed on the surface of its body at a rate of 30 to 40 feathers per cm², which allows it to resist the wind on the one hand, and resist water when diving on the other.
heat trapping
The penguin uses the connected feathers that envelop its body to trap heat inside to keep warm all the time, a process called thermoregulation, which means the ability of an organism to maintain its body temperature in a certain range, even when the ambient temperature is different.
This important process is one of the most important aspects of maintaining balance and stability between the animal’s internal and external environment.
Penguin habitat and adaptation
The habitat of the various types of penguins, which amount to approximately 18 species, is due to the southern hemisphere, where penguins live in the continents of the southern hemisphere, and these birds prefer temperate and subarctic islands, and approximately 95% of the penguins were found in the Galapagos along the western coast of Isabella and near Fernandina Island.
The nature of the place preferred by penguins
Penguins live on islands in general and in remote areas where there are no wild predators; Since they cannot fly, they like safe places to ensure their survival.
Penguins spend 75% of their time underwater; They swim very efficiently; Its average swimming speed is approximately 24 km per hour, and it swims in all places, especially near nutrient-rich currents and cold waters that provide large quantities of food.
Penguins adapt
Penguin species differ in terms of adaptation in different climates, there are certain types such as the Galapagos penguins that adapt to the climate of the tropical islands that are located at the equator, and other types such as the emperor penguin that adapts to the icy climate and the cold waters of Antarctica.
While Adélie penguins migrate 17,600 km each year in breeding groups and colonies in the far south of the Ross Sea, and when these birds disperse and leave the colonies, they roam for a distance of several thousand kilometers, then the penguins return to their colonies again to breed.
In general, the majority of penguin species do not live in Antarctica, but rather live between latitudes 45 and 60 degrees south, and breed on the islands.
