****************************************************** PENGUIN SURVIVAL ****************************************************** *********************** SURVIVAL IN THE COLD *********************** __________ QUESTION: During the harsh climate in the winter, do any of the penguins die from the cold? ANSWER from Dr. Michael Castellini on January 30, 1995: Yes, many penguins die each year on the rookeries. Survival of chicks is not very good and many get separated from their parents, get lost and then die from cold and lack of food. It is not easy to be a penguin chick. Some species hatch two chicks each year, but usually only one makes it all the way to fledging. This is true of many sea bird species however, and the penguins are not special in this problem. ********* ORPHANS ********* __________ QUESTION: If the female penguin is killed by a seal, does the male raise the babies alone or does he find a new mate? ANSWER: From Dr. Michael Castellini on January 16, 1995. Actually, the same problem would exist if either the male or female adult were not able to help with the chick. The problem would only exist until the chick is ready to go to sea by itself. After that, there would not be a problem. Up to that time though, if either parent was lost, the other would probably abandon the chick because there would not be a way for it to care for the chick when it had to be out to sea feeding. The older the chick was, the better chance it might have of surviving until the parent returned. ******************************* PROTECTION FROM PREDATORS ******************************* __________ QUESTION: How can penguins protect themselves from predators like lion seals? ANSWER from Dr. Penhale on January 24, 1995 Leopard seals are the seals that eat penguins in Antarctica; seals such as elephant seals, Weddell seals, and crab-eater seals eat fish or krill. There is very little that the penguins can do to protect themselves except for avoidance. The penguins, if they see a seal in the water or ice flow, could move in an opposite direction. But often, the penguins don't even seem to notice and can be very close. Once a seal has caught a penguin, which is most often in the water, the commotion is often enough to scare others away. *************************** LEARNING ABOUT DANGER *************************** __________ QUESTION: Do penguins find out about danger by pushing one of their own into the water? ANSWER: On January 14, 1995, Polly Penhale answered: It is hard to find an objective answer for this question because scientists cannot set up experiments to find out the answer. The idea of penguins "testing the water" by pushing in others was based on observations. When penguins are near the ice edge and in a position to go into the water, they are often in a large groups of 100 to 1000 birds. The birds are very active and are always milling around, and the birds in the back can't see what's going on in the front. So, I believe that this situation of crowding and moving and pushing causes the front birds on occasion to be accidentally pushed into the water. ************** AGE/ENEMIES ************** __________ QUESTION: How old can penguins get to be? Also, what enemies do penguins have? ANSWER from Craig Mundell & Dawn Scarboro of the Crary Lab on Dec. 21, 1994: The life expectancy of penguins is very difficult to determine. Penguins here are banded and followed through their breeding cycles, and this information is all laid out in tables. However, when the penguins leave the area of study and don't return, it is impossible to tell whether they died or just relocated. There may be some data on the life span of captive penguins, however, this would not necessarily reflect true results for wild penguins. The problem is that data on captive penguins is impacted by the controlled environment. Also, the size of the penguin may affect the life span. For example, the larger Emperor penguin might live longer or shorter than the smaller Adelie penguin. The penguins have several natural enemies. These are the Orca wales and the Leopard seals, both of which feed on penguins. Also, even though penguins have no natural fear of them, you might want to include humans as an enemy. Although we do everything we can to preserve and protect the penguins, we really don't know the effects of our presence. Since they do not fear us, they are very susceptible to harm, be it intentional or not, when we around them. ****************** IN THE FOOD WEB ****************** __________ QUESTION: How do penguins play an important part in the food web? ANSWER from Diane Stoecker on January 6, 1995: Penguins play an important role in the food web because they eat fish, squid and krill. In the Ross Sea, Adelie penguins eat mostly krill and some fish. Emperor penguins eat more fish and squid. For example, a colony of Adelie penguins probably eats 3000-4000 tonnes of krill and fish during a breeding season. That's a lot of food! This crops the prey populations. They may compete with baleen whale, such as the Minke whale, and larger fish for food. Penguins are eaten by larger predators, leopard seals and killer whales. The eggs and chicks are preyed on by skuas. The penguins really play a pivotal role in marine Antarctic food webs because they are one of the most important consumers of krill and small fish. ********************** FINES FOR TOUCHING? ********************** __________ QUESTION: What are the fines for touching penguins? Who gets this money? ANSWER from Guy Guthridge on February 10, 1995 The Antarctic Conservation Act says an American citizen may not "take" wildlife (and the word take generally means harassment) unless the citizen is a scientist who has applied for and obtained a permit for important scientific work. If you were to touch a penguin and didn't have a permit, you could be fined up to $5,000. If you were to maliciously injure or kill a penguin, you could be fined up to $10,000 and go to jail for up to a year. The money does not go into any agency, but into the U.S. Treasury under "miscellaneous receipts." See NSF regulation at 45 CFR 672.23(b), which states "Payment shall be made by ... a cashier's check or certified check in the amount of the penalty assessed in the final order, payable to the Treasurer, United States of America." ******************** FOOD FOR HUMANS? ******************** __________ QUESTION: Can you eat penguins? What do they taste like? ANSWER from Polly Penhale on January 12, 1995 Penguins are an excellent food source for many animals in Antarctica, such as leopard seals and killer whales, but people shouldn't eat them! Under the Antarctic Treaty, birds and mammals are protected. The United States passed a law called the Antarctic Conservation Act, which prohibits U.S. citizens from harming birds such as penguins. As for taste, my guess is that they would taste oily and fishy, as their diet consists of krill, which are shrimp-like animals in the ocean. ANSWER from Michael Castellini on January 13, 1995 The only examples I know of where humans ate penguins were in some of the early explorations of the Antarctic. Since there are also penguins in Africa, South America, New Zealand and other warmer places, it is possible that people who lived there ate these birds at some point. I don't know anyone who has tasted penguin, but I would think that it would taste like fish, not chicken! Since these birds eat fish, squid and krill, their meat would probably have lots of marine oils and taste to it!