Penguins are flightless birds that inhabit the Southern Hemisphere or Antarctic. That’s why penguin becomes one of the flightless bird in the world.
You might think about whether they ever moved to North Pole or inhabited Northern Hemisphere. The answer is penguins have ever been found in Arctic but it was long time ago. Most penguins nowadays live and inhabit the Antarctic.
Penguins are not the only animals inhabiting Antarctica, see the other mammals of Antarctica.
There are some underlying reasons of penguins staying south instead of north. Let’s see the reasons why there are no penguins in the north.
- Penguins are Flightless
Being able to fly is one of the strategies of animals to escape from their predators. When they are flightless, it would be harder for them to escape. North territory is known more dangerous, such as in South Africa and Namibia, penguins are exposed to lots of predators. So moving north puts penguins’ life in risk.
Penguins do not belong to the Arctic animals, see the reasons why by reading the unique facts about Arctic animals. They have different characteristics.
Different with the north area, Antarctic is much safer for penguins as they are on ice and have no threats on their surroundings. They can protect themselves better from land predators. However on the north area, penguins can be in dangers, especially for their chicks.
- Safe from Exploitation
In Antarctic, penguins can live peacefully and safely. They can breed and live in peace as they are untouched by humans. On the other hand, on the north area, some penguins, such as African penguins are exploited by humans for taking their guano for fertilizer and trampling their burrows. Besides, they are also hunted for oil until the last century. So, living in the Arctic is not a good idea for penguins.
- They are Great Swimmers
Despite the fact that they are flightless, penguins are great swimmers. Galapagos Islands, where most penguins live, are surrounded by hundreds miles of open ocean.
Penguins have heavier bones that disable them from flying but they make it perfect for penguins to swim even deeper. Most penguins will swim that far in the Southern Ocean to find food.
Galapagos Islands are in danger, especially for these endangered animal species in Galapagos islands.
- Too many predators in the Arctic
Arctic is famous for some animals, such polar bears and seals, which are also predators for penguins. So, inhabiting North Pole or the Arctic is not a good idea for penguins. Moreover, they are flightless and it makes them harder to escape from these predators.
- Penguin won’t move too far
Penguins are not animals that commonly move over large distances on land. As a result, it will be hard for them to find a new territory farther in the North area. By moving farther to the North, they will be likely to be attacked or killed by predators, including humans.
Has ever Penguin Inhabited the Arctic?
After looking at those reasons, you might also wondering whether any penguins have ever inhabited the North Pole or the Arctic. The answer is yes. Long time ago, in 1936, there was a Norwegian polar explorer named Lars Christensen.
He ever plucked nine king penguins from South Georgia beaches and sent them to the North Pole. They were placed on the Lofoten islands, where no predators could get them. Another breed of penguins was also introduced a decade after, including the macaroni penguins.
However, their chance of survival in the North Pole is very small as the last penguins were spotted in 1949. There’s no exact information about whether they were able to reproduce, but for a short period of time, the North Pole or the Arctic had ever been a habitat for small population of penguins.
The Great Auk
Though it is reported that there are no penguins living in the Arctic until now, but we have the closest thing to native Arctic penguins, called the pinguinis impennis. This bird has another name, which is the Great Auk and sadly saying it was extinct by 1844.
The Great Auk is similar to the penguins we see today. The Great Auk is a great black and white bird. Their most common predators are polar bears and killer whales.
This Great Auk was really popular among sailors from the north. The Great Auk was able to be spotted across the North Atlantic coast. However, illegal hunting of their eggs and meat by humans lead to its extinction.
Do you know how penguins got their names? It happened when the sailors from the north travelled to south, they saw black and white seabirds across the beaches. They weren’t able to fly but they could swim really well. These birds reminded them of pinguinis impennis, which is known as penguins nowadays.
Penguins in the movies and in real might be different, take a look at the closer explanation about them by reading meet and greet the real life penguin species of happy feet movie characters.