Posts Tagged ‘Penguins’
Georgia Aquarium – African Penguins
The African penguin is found along the southwestern coast of Africa, where it breeds primarily on 24 offshore islands between Namibia and Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The climate in this area is much warmer than that of Antarctica, so these penguins rarely see snow or ice. There are only approximately 120000 African penguins left in the wild and the species is listed as “endangered” on the IUCN Red List. The greatest threats to it are oil spills and over-fishing of its food source by man. In earlier times, this penguin was hunted for its meat, feathers and hides. The diet of the African penguin consists of a range of marine organisms including fishes, crustaceans and squid, as well as polychaete worms. Its body is adapted for life at sea: it can swim up to fifteen miles per hour, dive to about 30 feet and stay submerged for up to one minute. www.georgiaaquarium.org