African Penguin Essay

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The African penguin is known as the black-footed penguin. They mainly live and breed on islands in the temperate waters. This species of penguin is only found in the Southern of Africa and there are 24 known species living on islands located between Namibia and Algoa Bay in South Africa. That species is also known as the Jackass penguin because of its donkey like bray, which permit him to interact and communicate with other members of their colony. The African penguins are about 11 pounds in weight and up to 27 inches tall. It is very hard to distinguish males from females except during breeding but they are very easy to identify among other species of penguins due to their physical characteristics. In fact, they have the particularly to have a white stripe encircling a black cheek and throat moreover, they have a black horseshoe-shaped stripe across the chest. They also have a broad white band on the cheeks. African penguins have black feathers on the back and white feathers on the front of their bodies. The dark color on their back serves as a camouflage, which help them to hide from predators when they are in the water. Usually penguins are birds that cannot fly but African penguins can swim very well and can also fly through the water at a speed of 20 miles an hour thanks to their torpedo shaped body and their short stiff wings. African penguins have a shinny, waterproof feathers, which help them to keep their skin dry. Once a year, penguins molt losing their old feathers and growing new ones. While molting, which can last three weeks, they cannot swim and do not eat. Concerning their diet, African penguins can travel from 30 to 70 km to find food. Their diets consist mainly of fish such as anchovies, pilchards, horse mackerel and round herrings and crustaceans of which krill is the principal species. They can eat up to one pound of fish every day. African

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