Adélie penguin Facts
Adélie penguin Facts
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| Interesting Adélie penguin Facts: |
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| Adélie penguin can reach 18 to 27.5 inches in height and 8.5 to 12 pounds of weight. |
| Adélie penguin has blue-black feathers on the back and white feathers on the chest and belly. It has black head with prominent white circles around eyes. |
| Adélie penguin has streamlined body and strong, webbed feet equipped with claws which facilitate climbing on the rocky cliffs. It has small flippers which are used for swimming and relatively long, wedge-shaped tail. |
| Adélie penguin is a carnivore. Its diet is based on krill, mollusks, small fish and squid. |
| Adélie penguin has sharp barbs (instead of teeth) on the tongue and roof of the mouth which facilitate swallowing of slippery prey. |
| Adélie penguin can travel 185 miles and dive to a depth of 575 feet to find food. |
| Adélie penguin moves with ease on the solid ground. It can travel distance of 31 miles (from the nests on the cliffs to the open sea) by walking and sliding down the rocky slopes on its belly. |
| Adélie penguin resides on the mainland of Antarctica during the warm summer months and travels to the north and spends winter on the large platforms of ice. |
| Leopard seal and killer whale are natural enemies of adult Adélie penguins, while southern polar skua likes to eat eggs and chicks. |
| Mating season of Adélie penguin takes place from October to February (during the spring). |
| Adélie penguins live in large colonies composed of few thousand animals during the breeding season. |
| Adélie penguins are monogamous animals. They usually build nests on the rocky cliffs and often steal rocks (building material) from the nearby nests. |
| Female lays 2 eggs. Incubation period lasts 32 to 34 eggs. Both male and female take part in the incubation of eggs and rearing of chicks. When food is scarce, usually only one chick survives. At the age of 3 weeks, young penguins gather in groups called "creches" while their parents are away, in search for food. |
| Young Adélie penguins become ready to swim and fend for themselves in the sea at the age of 2 to 3 months. |
| Adélie penguin can survive up to 20 years in the wild. |
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