Emperor and other penguins store up an enormous amount of fat before the incubation and brooding period. The males have to fast for close to 115 days! Up to 45% of their body weight is lost during that period. Man, that’s dedication! How many of us could eat nothing for almost four months? It seems like a better way could’ve been worked out, but what do I know? Chicks do grow fast, and then form their own nurseries (crèches). Once they molt, they begin going out to sea.

Penguins are social birds, and usually breed in very large colonies. They only worry about the small space right around their immediate nesting site, but this they do defend.

Penguins don’t have a lot of natural enemies on land. They pick areas to breed that are safe from predation. This isn’t the case in the water, however. Killer whales, seals and sharks all make meals out of penguins. But overall, penguins fare pretty well because their primary predator, man, no longer kills them for their blubber. Also, their eggs aren’t taken any longer by humans, which wasn’t always the case.

A gold penguin pin pendant would be fun to own, fun to wear and a real conversation starter!

 

I now have a gold bird pin pendants home started; I recently added a noble bald eagle pin pendant in gold.