MAGELLANIC PENGUIN

Homeland: South America, on the coasts of Chile and Argentina, and the Falkland Islands.

Eats: Fish, squid, and crustaceans

Fun facts:

• Many people think we penguins live way up by the North Pole, but actually, all penguins live in the southern hemisphere. (Unless, of course, we live in a zoo.) Some penguins, like Magellanic penguins, live in places where it’s not always all that cold. In fact, where I live in South America, summers can get downright warm! (The only way Nanuk and I know each other is from being penpals. He lives way at the top of the earth, and I live down toward the bottom.)

• Penguins have wings, yet we can’t fly. But like other birds who can fly, we have feathers. Lots and lots of feathers! I’ve got more than 70 feathers per square inch – far more than the average bird. My feathers are covered with a natural oil to keep me waterproof and warm.

• If you watched Peggy and me swim on the video to get to our little hike, you’ll see that we swim so fast we almost fly through the water. A penguin can swim at speeds of 15 miles per hour – that’s four times as fast as the speediest human swimmer!