ClassX Video Lessons Why Aren’t There Penguins in the Arctic? FreeSchool Presents a Closer Look at Arctic Penguins
Have you ever wondered why penguins, those cute birds we see in icy places, are only found in the southern part of the world and not in the Arctic? Even though both the Arctic and Antarctica are cold, penguins have never made a home in the Arctic. Let’s find out why penguins stay in the south and what happened when people tried to bring them to the north.
Penguins are amazing at staying warm because they have thick feathers and a layer of fat. This helps them in cold places, but it also means they don’t like hot weather. Penguins have to work hard to stay cool, so they look for shade, flap their flippers, pant like dogs, or jump into cold water to cool down.
Some penguins, like the Galapagos penguin, live near the equator, which is the middle part of the Earth. But the water there is cooler because of a special ocean current called the Humboldt Current. This current keeps the water cold enough for penguins. However, most of the water near the equator is too warm for penguins, making it hard for them to move north.
Penguins need special places to live, like islands or remote areas where there aren’t many predators. They are not very fast on land, so they can be easy targets for animals that want to eat them, especially when they are taking care of their eggs. There aren’t many safe islands in warmer waters, which is another reason why penguins don’t move north.
A long time ago, there was a bird called the great auk that lived in the North Atlantic and looked a bit like a penguin. Sadly, it went extinct because people hunted it too much. In the 1930s, some scientists thought penguins could take the place of the great auk in the Arctic.
In 1936, a man named Carl Schoyen tried to introduce penguins to the Arctic by releasing nine king penguins on islands near Norway. Later, they also introduced macaroni and gentoo penguins. Some of these penguins seemed to do well and even had chicks. But the last time anyone saw these penguins in the Arctic was in 1954.
The penguins didn’t stay in the Arctic because of human activities. Many of the penguins were caught or harmed by people soon after they were released. Even though some penguins survived for a while, they eventually faced dangers from fishing and other human actions.
While it might be fun to imagine penguins living in the Arctic, they are better off in their natural homes in the southern hemisphere. Penguins have special needs and face many challenges in the north, including warmer temperatures and human interference. It’s best for them to stay where they can live happily and safely.
