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Penguins

At a rookery next to Palmer Station, Antarctica, an adult Adélie penguin stands near two nearly-grown chicks at the end of the breeding season. (Photo by Byron Pedler, WHOI)


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At a rookery next to Palmer Station, Antarctica, an adult Adélie penguin stands near two nearly-grown chicks at the end of the breeding season. (Photo by Byron Pedler, WHOI)

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Penguins are the animals most identified with Antarctica, and are the most numerous birds there. Seven of the seventeen known penguin species breed in Antarctic territory. The largest and best known is the Emperor Penguin (especially after the summer, 2005 film March of the Penguins). Other species there are Adélie, Chinstrap, Gentoo, and Macaroni. Penguins eat fish, squid, and krill, and are eaten by toothed whales, seals and sea lions, and their eggs are preyed on by other birds. Many penguins spend most of their time at sea, looking for food. Adélie penguins are very common in the summer around the Antarctic peninsula, where Dive and Discover Expedition 10 is taking place.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves


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