By Josie February 10th, 2023
Penguins are a group of adorable aquatic flightless birds.
Save for one species, all penguins inhabit the Southern Hemisphere.
African penguins are the only species of penguin native to Africa, living only in South Africa and Namibia.
African Penguins used to be known as ‘Jackass’ Penguins due to their distinctive donkey-like bray.
Rockhopper penguins are so named because they hop up and down steep slopes to go to their nests
The majority of northern rockhopper penguins can be found on Gough Island and the Tristan da Cunha group of islands.
These majestic birds are the second largest penguin species.
King Penguins form gigantic colonies when they come in to shore during the mating season.
One colony at South Georgian Island is estimated to have over 200,000 birds.
The Adélie penguin got it’s name from the French Antarctic explorer, Jules Dumont d’Urville.
On discovering these sea birds in 1840 he decided to name them after his beloved wife – Adéle.
They breed in colonies along the southern coastlines of Australia and New Zealand, with Phillip Island in Victoria home to an estimated 32,000 breeding adults.
Fairy penguins are the smallest penguins on the planet, and the only ones with blue eyes and feathers.
Macaroni penguins are the most abundant species in the world, with almost 24 million penguins in 260 colonies.
They reside in South America, Australia, Antarctica and Marion Island.
Emperor penguins are the largest and tallest of all the penguins, and call the shores of Antarctica home.
These penguins nest exclusively on Antarctic sea ice, making them the only bird species that never sets foot on land.
Not only do chinstrap penguins look like they are wearing little army helmets all the time, but they are the most common penguin on Antarctica – with almost 13 million individuals.
The subantarctic gentoos inhabit islands in the southern Indian and Atlantic Oceans, such as Marion Island.
There are countless places around the world where you can get close to these beautiful birds in their natural habitat!