Penguins

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The signature Species of the Southern Hemisphere (Antarctica) - the mascot if you will - is the penguin. There are not one and no fewer than seventeen species of penguins. Penguins are flightless birds in which several factors are contributing to the reduction of the penguin population. These contributing factors are both man-made and naturally occurring. “The origin of the word “penguin” has been the subject of debate for a long period of time. Researchers and historians’ theories range from reference to the amount of fat (penguigo in Spanish and pinguis in Latin) penguins possess to the claim that the word was derived from two Welsh words meaning ‘white head’.” (Sparks and Soper, 1987) Penguins are comical and funny birds. Blue/black on the upper half of their body and white on the lower half, they look as though they are all dressed up for a formal dinner or show but have no place to go! Penguins are flightless birds, which have adapted to living in the cooler waters of the Southern Hemisphere. They generally live on islands and remote continental regions that are free of land predators. Their inability to fly has been detrimental to their survival on land. Some species of penguins spend as much as 75% of their lives in the ocean, yet they all breed on land or sea ice attached to land. The seventeen species found today are thought to have evolved from flying birds more than forty million years ago. To date, the discovery of all penguin fossil fragments has been limited to the Southern Hemisphere. “Records show that prehistoric penguins were found within the range of present-day penguins.” (Sparks and Soper, 1987) All penguins have a very similar torpedo-shaped body form, which is conducive for swimmin... ... middle of paper ... ...e of these animals is complex and difficult. The need for protecting marine habitats for all kinds of marine life has become serious. We have the ability to cause the extinction of far too many creatures. As of December 4, 1998, a number of conservation groups gathered and formulated a report on the penguin population. They believe that 9 penguin species should have been endangered or were close to being endangered, and 2 more species close to being threatened. Previously, only 5 of the total seventeen penguin species were considered threatened. Based on the above-referenced conservation groups’ statistics, more than 50% of penguin species may be close to endangered. If we do not take an active stand on the protection of these amazing birds, we stand a chance of creating yet another “dinosaur,” available to our children only through history and science books.

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