Wildlife Monographs:Penguins

These flightless seabirds are found in the Southern Hemisphere. They have dark upperparts with a mainly white breast and flipper like wings for swimming. There are 11 known species in Antarctica, the largest is the Emperor , at around 120 cm tall. Penguins are fairly widely distributed, forming breeding colonies, varying from year to year, from 10,000 to a few hundred pairs. Fortunately there are no land-based predatory animals in Antarctica, no polar bears or ice foxes. As a result, Penguins are not afraid of humans and one can get close to a colony.