10 Facts that prove penguins are the world’s cutest animals
BY Anna Walker
1st Jan 2015 Animals & Pets
We already knew penguins were flipping wonderful, but these 10 facts cement their place as nature's most adorable waddlers. This is why penguins are the coolest birds around.
Little blue penguin. Image via Fredrik Graas
The smallest penguin species is the Little Blue penguin which stands at just 16 inches tall
Image via Wired
The earliest penguin fossils place them some 60 million years ago. This means a tougher ancestor of today’s cuddly birds survived the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Image via Cater News
Though it varies by species, most penguins mate for life, returning to the same partner season after season.
Image via Flickr
In certain penguin species, it is the male who incubates the egg while the females disappear to hunt, sometimes for weeks at a time. For this reason, chubby males are the most desirable because they can best survive her absence.
While swimming, penguins leap in shallow arcs above the surface of the water—a technique dubbed porpoising. Some scientists theorise that they make these leaps out of sheer joy.
Penguins are not sexually dimorphic, meaning the male and female look alike.
When penguins slide on their bellies it is called tobogganing. Researchers believe they do this both for fun and as an efficient way to travel.
Image via MindGoCrazy
Different penguins have different ways of attracting sexual partners. Gentoo penguins carefully select a pebble as a gift whereas King Penguins sing long songs with their mates.
Prehistoric penguins were very large, growing to almost the same height and weight as humans.
A group of penguins in the sea is called a raft, a group on land is called a waddle.
Bonus! We dare you not to smile at these adorable penguin bloopers:
Obviously there is lots of penguin toys, gifts, ornaments you can purchase for that visual reminder of how cute they are.
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