10 facts about Penguin Awareness Day!

1.  Penguin species often form creches to care for their young. In large colonies raising chicks together provides safety from predators and allows parents to leave for fishing trips.

2. Hidden under their dense feathers and fat layers, penguins have knees to help them waddle and swim efficienty.

3. In a wastly populated colony, penguins are able to recognise individual voices; as each has a destinct call that helps them find their mate and chicksamong the crowd.

4. Penguins are equipped with a special gland (supraorbital gland) that filters salt from seawater, allowing them to drink it without harm.

5. Emperor penguins can dive up to a depth of 1,800 feet. These record breaking divers can hold their breath up to 20 minutes  underwater. 

6. Instead of teeth, penguins have backward-facing spines in the mouth to grip and prevent  slippery fish from escaping.

7. Male Adelie and Gentoo penguins often present smooth pebbles to females as a courting gesture.

8. Penguins can leap up to 6 feet (1.8 metres) out of the water to land on ice or rocks.

9. Penguins go through a catastrophic moult annually  when they lose and regrow all their feathers at ones. For 3-4 weeks at this time, they cannot swim or hunt because the feathers are not water-proof.

10. Large colonies of penguins produce so much guano (poop) that scientists can spot it using satellite images.