Southern Living To find penguins, head south. T ey only live in the southern hemisphere. T at’s the half of Earth that’s south of the Equator. No penguins live north of the Equator.
T at’s because too many large land predators live in the northern hemisphere. Penguins don’t have the traits to escape these predators. T ey’re so awkward on land that bears and wolves could easily catch them. Predators live in the south, too, of course.
For penguins, though, the threat comes more oſt en from the sea. T ere, leopard seals and orcas hunt them. Penguins are such good swimmers, they oſt en outrace their predators. So the south is a safer place for them to live. T e southern hemisphere isn’t an easy place
to survive, though. Penguins live in some of the most extreme places when they’re on land. So each species has developed traits to help it survive in its environment. To see how, let’s start with Emperor penguins.
Emperor penguin chicks huddle to stay warm.
Keeping Warm Emperor penguins live in Antarctica. It’s one of the harshest environments on Earth. Winds howl. Temperatures plunge to -30°C. The ice stretches as far as the eye can see. An emperor has the same traits that all penguins share. Yet it needs other traits to survive here. Its size helps. An emperor is the biggest and
heaviest of all penguins. Males can weigh up to 40 kg. Part of that weight is extra fat, or blubber. T is physical adaptation helps keep an emperor penguin warm in the water and on land. An emperor’s behavioral adaptations help
it survive the cold, too. Hundreds of these penguins will huddle together to share body heat. T ey aren’t standing still, though. T ey’re slowly moving. Each one takes a turn on the outside of the group. T ere, it helps to block the cold wind. T at keeps the birds in the middle of the group warm. When a bird on the outside gets too cold, it slowly shuff les into the center to warm up.
6 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXTREME EXPLORER
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