Penguin Awareness Day

If any reader has ever seen the film Happy Feet directed by George Miller about a penguin named Mumble who can't sing but can dance very well, then surely he will not be able to forget his cute figure.

This is a funny bird that lives mainly in the Southern Hemisphere with the lowest average annual temperature on earth.

Today, researchers think there are about between 16 and 18 different species of penguins in the world. However, out of which 13 species have been reduced in population due to climate, habitat and the lack of responsibility in the conservation of animals by humans. More alarmingly, 5 species are listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature statistics.

Therefore, the National Penguin Day held on January 20 every year is a good opportunity for people to raise awareness about this penguin species, thereby raising responsibility in their conservation.

Currently, scientists are still wondering quite a lot about the evolutionary history of penguins. To date, there are only fossils that have survived in the land of New Zealand about 62 million years ago that indicate that the Waimaru genus is the oldest penguin species. Their body structure is quite similar to today's penguins, their wings are very short and can't fly. The only difference was that Waimaru at that time did not really live in the water environment and adapted to deep diving to catch prey.

First, they are one of the few flightless birds that evolved from flying about 60 million years ago. Surprisingly, their closest relative is the albatross, a bird known for its ability to fly. At first hearing, losing the ability to fly is an evolutionary setback, but in fact, short propeller-like wings and stiff bones help them swim faster, dive deeper and adapt extremely well to the marine ecosystem that no other bird can do.

The shape you often see in penguins is the white part on the belly and the dark part covering the back. They use short wings to make flippers when diving underwater. The front legs are used to move on the ground with a rather waddling appearance and especially the penguins know how to use the front abdomen to crawl on the snow whenever they want to go at a faster speed.

Penguins are group-dwelling, highly social, and always gather in groups. Each population can be up to tens of thousands of animals. Although in such a large number and difficult to control, but each couple of penguin parents, they can recognize and watch their babies through special hearing.

This bird is currently threatened by carnivores such as foxes and wolves in Australia and New Zealand. And actually now the penguin population is decreasing significantly due to global warming.

Almost all emperor penguin populations depend on sea ice firmly anchored to the land to breed, according to the study. And this ground anchor ice needs to remain stable for about nine months from the time they spawn until the chicks molt.

Among the penguins, the one named Emperor is the best known. When mature, they usually reach 1.1m in height and 35kg in weight. And a rare species that is rarely seen is the Fairy penguin: they are only about 40cm tall and weigh only about 1kg.

Previous projections have suggested that climate change and melting ice will likely trigger a decline in emperor penguin populations. Studies estimate that 90% of known emperor penguin populations will be lost by the end of the century if no action is taken to cut greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.

A 2019 study in the journal Global Change Biology suggests that, even if global temperatures rise only 1.5 degrees Celsius - the scenario that climate scientists think is the best scenario, the number of emperor penguins will Antarctic soles will decrease by at least 31%.

The National Penguin Awareness Day History

For scientists, this adorable creature is an important measure to assess the state of the sea as well as help understand the need to conserve resources in the Antarctic sea.

Scientist Christian Reiss said penguins are iconic species for ecosystems, and their numbers depend on effective ecosystem-based management, including an understanding of the role climate change and human impact on this species. Perhaps that's why the Penguin Awareness Day was born, and is of great interest to scientists and PhD students.

Penguins are sensitive to climate change as melting ice sheets shrink their habitats and warming ocean waters reduce their prey populations.

Scientists believe that overfishing is affecting the numbers of their prey such as krill, causing pollution and degradation of their breeding grounds as well as climate change. Queen.

Meanwhile, Antarctic researcher Cassandra Brooks of Stanford University said that climate change is rapidly changing the environment in Antarctica, and that animals including Antarctic marine ecosystems are changing to adapt.

Scientists need to continue to unravel the complex interplay between climate change and penguin populations, Brooks said.

How to hold National Penguin Awareness Day

Celebrate the holiday on January 20 this year with many fascinating facts you never knew about penguins, including interesting information about their powerful abilities as well as interesting behaviors. There's a lot of surprising things to learn about these flightless birds, so spend today learning about their origins.

You can go to zoos to watch the penguins living there, and check a little about their habitat.

You can also learn about the factors that endanger the penguin population, thereby participating in associations that protect the welfare of these penguins. Reducing waste, reducing agents of climate change, greenhouse effect to ensure the living environment has them.

A deeply meaningful job in the celebration of Penguin Day is please call on people around you to join hands to reduce the causes of climate change, reduce the massive hunting of fish, help Penguin species are allowed to live in the right environment for them, so that the penguin population will multiply and develop.

Do not hesitate to share your knowledge about penguins, including their numbers, species and threats they face on social networks to call on everyone to join hands to preserve the species. this object. Or simply share your love with them, with positive words to spread the love of penguins to everyone with the hashtag #NationalPenguinAwarenessDay.