6 reasons why penguins are just great

April 25th is World Penguin Day! It's called that because the penguins' annual migration north begins around April 25th. That puts me in the mood to celebrate: I just loooooove penguins! I can hardly get enough of them, their short legs and black coats, strutting around on the ice and losing their balance here and there - who can blame them given the slippery conditions at the South Pole. And I'm not alone in that. It's not for nothing that these geographically distant, flightless birds are omnipresent in the western world. The reasons why penguins cannot fly are their wings are too small, they are too heavy, and their feet are too short. To make matters worse, they are slow on land. There are many reasons to simply love them.

I present my top 6 to you here.

1. Penguins are fantastic parents

Penguins are really great parents, and their equal division of labor is something that some human mothers would certainly envy. Mother and father are equally involved from the start: they build a nest together, the mother lays the egg, and the father helps incubate it. In some species, the father sits in the nest, but in the Antarctic, only his warm feathers and feet take on this function. After 32 to 68 days, the chick hatches and stays in the belly fold until it can fly. After laying the egg, the mother goes hunting. When she is finished, the egg is transferred to her and the father can get some strength. In this way, the egg thrives under the warmth of both parents.

Both Emperor penguins the father even takes over the care of the brood for the first two months so that his wife can go on an extended hunt to replenish her fat reserves. And parents never abandon their children! This mother in the video returns after a long hunt and initially cannot find her husband and baby in the huge colony. But she does not give up, and all the other penguins help her by lining up and letting her hear their unique voices! So there is a happy ending in this great video. <3

2. Penguins are true team players

Penguins live in large, dense colonies of up to one million (!) members. Direct physical contact is reserved only for their own family members, and territorial fights can sometimes cause quite a stir in the box. Penguins have recognized the meaning and purpose of teamwork and enjoy the valuable protection of the group. In order to communicate properly, penguins have developed a language system consisting of various calls that differ in sound and number from species to species. Two are used only by the chicks, a kind of moan and a short squeak that they repeat until they are full. Does this sound familiar? 

Even if you can't see them, penguins have fantastic ears. They need them to find their people in the mass of other penguins - each penguin has a unique voice, which is the essential distinguishing feature among the animals, which look very similar. The sounds made by penguins are fascinating little melodies. In order to memorize their partner's voice, penguins shout at each other for hours during courtship.

Communication also serves other vital purposes. There is a call for aggression, one for making contact, one for hunger. Underwater, however, the fins play an important role in communication.

Incidentally, the penguin also shows signs of sociability outside of its natural environment. A special example of this is this Japanese YouTube classic about the rescued penguin Lala, who has apparently come to terms with life in the city.

3. Penguins are forever faithful to each other – and if they aren’t, they’re in for a tough time!

Penguins are among the most monogamous creatures in existence, and we find that incredibly romantic. But if you're thinking: nonsense, animals don't have such feelings, you should watch this video, which shows a genuine jealousy scene. Not like that, buddy! Even if the competition is a camera dummy.

4. The way penguins walk is simply slapstick!

Are there people who don't have to smile when they see penguins on land? How they clumsily waddle around on their short feet, pushing their long bodies step by step across the icy desert with the help of their muscles, wings and gravity?

Penguins are great at sliding across the ice on their chubby bellies. It looks like a lot of fun, but it's primarily used to save energy. If people did that, I'd have a lot of calluses on my stomach! 

And please watch this video where one after the other is walking across the rope. I could laugh myself silly! 

However, you shouldn't be fooled by their sometimes clumsy gait on land: Underwater, penguins would completely wet even the most gifted diver among humans! They swim for many minutes and several hundred meters deep in smooth, nimble movements for which their streamlined body and fin-like wings (or wing-like fins?) are perfect.

5. The penguins from Madagascar and co.: popular characters in tailcoats

For several years now, penguins have been increasingly seen in public. n
In films such as Penguins of Madagascar, The Wave Kings, Happy Feet or the highly recommended documentary March of the Penguins, the smart tailcoat wearers play the main role. The advertising industry also profitably uses the charm of the waddling creatures. The Linux PC operating system has even made a penguin into an image carrier with Tux, the official mascot. Skype, Instagram, Whatsapp and whatever else they are called offer penguin icons. A well-known chocolate manufacturer named a product range after the bird.

In many great children's books such as A Penguin Dances Out of Line or games such as the one loved by our children Ravensburger Plitsch-Platsch Penguin The bird also enchants millions.
In addition, penguins are so cute that they can be made into plush are ideal as a cuddly buddy.

6. Penguins are as tough as lava

No, the comparison isn't really that far-fetched: Anyone who can withstand such sub-zero temperatures and even use their body heat to ripen a thin-shelled, fragile egg must be a hot guy in some way. 

The penguin is made for low temperatures. A sophisticated system of parallel veins ensures that the feet do not freeze to the ice. The physical toughness of the penguins seems to radiate into their temperament. You have to do what they do: if you fall, get up and carry on!

I hope you liked the article and give me a thumbs up for it. 

Have I missed a compelling argument for loving penguins? What do you like most about them? Or do you prefer another animal?

I'm looking forward to your commentary!
Your Nicole

PS: If you want to read some real nonsense about penguins, check out here in. :-)