Journal tuxette's Journal: penguins 6
Yesterday, I was complaining about getting flabby, and October 30th was kind enough to remind me that this is natural for penguins, that we penguins bulk up right before a fasting period. My mind had been so preoccupied with other crap that I forgot about the upcoming fast haha...
I showed this information to boyfriend of tuxette, who seemed to be more interested in the reproductive habits of penguins. Until I reminded him what the result of such activities can be
Some other interesting penguin facts:
- To conserve energy while fasting, penguins may increase the time they spend sleeping (Davis and Darby, 1990). Hey...I like that one
- Generally, penguins are not sexually dimorphic; males and females look alike. [But] during the breeding season, female penguins are sometimes identifiable by muddy footprints on their backs, left by males during mating activity. Hmmm...
- The average lifespan of penguins is probably 15 to 20 years. Some individuals live considerably longer (Sparks and Soper, 1987). tuxette is 33 and still going strong!
- Penguins exhibit intricate courting and mate-recognition behavior. Elaborate visual and vocal displays help establish and maintain nesting territories (Marchant, 1990).
- There are three main kinds of penguin calls. a. The contact call is usually used at sea to assist in visual recognition of colony members. The contact call of emperor and king penguins can be heard one kilometer (0.6 mi.) away (del Hoyo, et al., 1992). b. The display call is the most complex of all the calls and is used between partners in a colony. The call must convey information on territorial, sexual, and individual recognition (del Hoyo, et al., 1992). c. The threat call is the simplest and is used to defend a territory and warn against predators (del Hoyo, et al., 1992).
- Penguins eat krill (a shrimplike crustacean in the family Euphausiidae), squids, and fishes. Various species of penguins have slightly different food preferences, which reduces competition among species. Yum, seafood!
- Penguins have more feathers than most other birds, with about 70 feathers per square inch.
- Penguins walk with short steps or hops, sometimes using their bills or tails to assist themselves on steep climbs (del Hoyo, et al., 1992). Antarctic species can move much faster over ice by "tobogganing" on their bellies, using their flippers and feet to help them move along (Simpson, 1976).
- Although it is more energy efficient for penguins to swim under water than at the water surface, they must come to the surface to breathe. They compromise by "porpoising" - leaping in and out of the water, like dolphins or porpoises (Sparks and Soper, 1987).
- The internal temperature range of penguins is 37.8C to 38.9C (100F-102F) (Simpson, 1976). heh...remember my body heat JE?
- Emperor penguins are able to recapture 80% of heat escaping in their breath through a complex heat exchange system in their nasal passages (Sparks and Soper, 1987).
penguins in my dreams (Score:1)
Re:penguins in my dreams (Score:2)
Yeah, I know. No wonder why people look at my back and then look at me funny sometimes ;-)
Cool! (Score:1)
Re:Cool! (Score:2)
Penguin food (Score:1)
Re:Penguin food (Score:2)
Mmmmm...calamari!