Did you know that there are 17 different types of penguins throughout the
world? They range from the smallest penguin, called a “little (Blue) Penguin”,
weighing only2.2 pounds and 15 inches tall, to the largest penguin, called the
“Emperor Penguin, which is over 4 feet tall and weighs 90.3 pounds. My report
today is about the “Rockhopper Penguin”, a very unique species.
The Rockhopper penguin’s height and weight is about two feet tall and
weighs about six pounds. The colors on the Rockhopper penguins are black,
yellow, red, orange, white, and pink. The speed of how fast they swim is about
4.6 miles per hour, about as fast as you back out of your driveway.
All of the seventeen species of penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere.
Rockhopper Penguins typically live in the Falkland Islands. The Falkland Islands are
located near the Southern part of South America. The climate in July is 23 degrees
Fahrenheit and in January it is about 71 degrees Fahrenheit. It is the opposite of
our climate. The average winter day is only has six hours of sunshine. Rockhopper
penguins live by the sea and rocky places. Did you know why Rockhopper
penguins are called their name? It’s because they jump rock to rock and that’s
how they get their name.
The breeding season is from October to April and that is the warmest season.
Rockhopper penguins have the same mate every year. The male gets their first to
set up a nest. The nest is made with sticks and dry grass. When the female comes
to the nest, it lays two eggs. The first egg is smaller than the second egg. The
larger egg has a better chance of surviving. In about thirty –two days the egg
hatches. The male penguin watches the chick when the female finds food. After
seventy-two days the chick goes on its own.
Very few people are lucky enough to see penguins in their natural habitat. The
rest of us can see what they look like, smell like, and how they swim at any large
zoo. It’s interesting to think that the male makes the nest and the female finds
food . With other birds ,the female makes the nest and finds food. The climate in
the Falklands Islands is the opposite of our climate in Michigan. Rockhopper
penguins have lots of different colors’ like black, white, red, pink, orange, and
yellow and I think Rockhopper penguins are neat.