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Registered: March 2006
Posts: 3166
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Tue July 29, 2008 10:36am
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Does this show courage or just that the Penguins aren't really that smart? I'm kidding of course these Penguins could jump off that icy cliff into that frozen water all day long without a hitch.
According to wikipedia - Penguins seem to have no special fear of humans and have approached groups of explorers without hesitation. So perhaps those little birds really are brave.
As to how Penguins deal with such cold conditions -
Penguins have a thick layer of insulating feathers which serve to keep them warm in water (heat loss in water is much greater than in air). The Emperor penguin (the largest penguin) has the largest body mass of all penguins, which further reduces relative surface area and heat loss. They also are able to control blood flow to their extremities, reducing the amount of blood which gets cold, but still keeping the extremities from freezing. In the extreme cold of the Antarctic winter, the females are at sea fishing for food leaving the males to brave the weather by themselves. They often huddle together to keep warm and rotate positions to make sure that each penguin gets a turn in the center of the heat pack.
Look for Penguin Posters for sale for your home
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