Discover How Penguins Stay Warm in Their Frigid Habitat

Penguins have always been a favorite animal to so many people. From their tuxedo-looking attire to the way they waddle around when they walk, penguins have plenty of reasons why everyone loves them. A lot of penguins spend their entire lives in some of the coldest places in the world and swim in freezing water. But how do these animals stay warm? Here are a few ways penguins can keep themselves warm.

Down Feathers

Even though penguins are birds, their feathers are not like those of a typical bird, such as a cardinal or a hummingbird. A penguin’s feathers are wooly, extremely short, and fine. Their feathers are also coated in oil to help keep them more water-resistant. Penguins can trap air near their skin by puffing out their inner feathers, basically giving them a personal heater. This trapped air gives the penguins a large amount of their thermal insulation. This gives them extra warmth when they are on land.

Blubber

Blubber is the thick layer of fat that helps insulate and trap heat inside the body. This is especially useful when the penguins are swimming in freezing waters. This also helps by acting as an energy reserve for the penguins when they are caring for their young or when it’s too cold to collect food. With penguins being warm-blooded mammals, blubber is crucial to their survival.

Size

Penguins that live in cold climates are some of the biggest penguins on Earth. The Emperor Penguin is the largest penguin on the planet. They are, on average, 48 inches tall and weigh between 50 to 100 pounds. Being that large means that they have a smaller surface area to volume ratio, meaning they lose less heat.

Huddling

Sharing body heat is one of the main ways that penguins stay warm and survive the cold. They will huddle together and form a circle. This social behavior can have 1000s of penguins in it, and this huddle can greatly reduce the amount of heat lost for each penguin. They will face inward and gradually take turns moving towards the center of the huddle. The center of the circle can reach temperatures up to 30 degrees Celsius compared to the -40 degrees along the outer huddle.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © iStock.com/BernardBreton