Hazel on Penguins (Day 53)
Hi. This is Hazel here (with typing help from Mom). I want to tell you all about penguins. Cape Town has a beach called Boulders Beach where there are wild penguins right there next to you. It was so fun!
I learned a lot about penguins at the Cape Town Aquarium and from books. Here are some facts I learned about penguins.
No two penguins look exactly the same.
For camouflage a penguins back is black so it is hard to see in the water from above.
Penguins have 2 eyelids to keep the salt and sand out.
A penguins tongue is bumpy.
Penguins have special glands for their salt water sneezes. (When they eat a fish they also gulp down water. After they eat the fish they sneeze the water out.)
This little guy is cute but his leg seems hurt in the video.
Penguins can only be found in certain places. So unfortunately if you are not in Antarctica or the southern parts of South Africa, Chile, Australia or other countries close by you might have bad luck trying to find them in the wild.
In the wild, penguins can live from 20 to 30 years and they are sort of scared of humans and will attack you if they decide you are not a friend. In captivity the penguins have a lot of food and shelter and will not attack you because they are used to humans. The oldest penguin in captivity has lived for 50 years.
At the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town Costanza and I did a penguin experience with their Rock Hopper penguins. They are used to humans because they have been living with them at the Aquarium. I learned that the Rockhopper penguins eat fish, both the scales and the insides. I visited the place where they make the penguins’ food.
They opened the door to have the penguins come to us and one jumped on my lap!
The penguin experts told us about how they study penguins and how we can all help penguins. You can help by doing the 3Rs. Reduce reuse and recycle. Like trying to say no thanks when someone offers you a straw. Our penguin friends will appreciate it !
