Penguins

Penguins. Everyone knows them. Happy Feet, March of the Penguins, Surf's Up, and a lot of other movies. Penguins have recently become very popular.

But a lot of people don't know as much about penguins as they think they do. There are not just penguins everywhere that act alike and do similar things. There are many different types of penguins that are each different and unique. Just like there are many different types of people, there are many different types of penguins.

Adelie penguins breed and raise their little penguins further south than any other penguin on the continent of Antarctica. In September and October, which is springtime in that region of the world, thousands of Adelie penguins gather on the Antarctica shoreline to breed and raise their young. The huge gatherings are called colonies. The Adelie make nests by scooping out areas in the ground, and then lining them with rocks. The female penguins usually lay two eggs in the nest. The stones help to keep the eggs dry, warm, and off the ground. Both parents care for the egg. While one takes care of the egg, the other goes to the sea to eat. They eat mostly krill, fish, and squid. (Krill are tiny shrimp-like animals.) The eggs will usually hatch in December, which in Antarctica is the warmest time of year.

Parents take care of the baby when it is out of the egg the same way they did when it was in it - they take turns. They only do that until the chick is about three weeks old. Then both parents go to the ocean to eat and all the chicks stay behind together. Groups of young Adelies are called creches. When the chicks are about nine weeks old they get their adult feathers, which are waterproof and not as fluffy. Then they go to sea and start to look for food on their own.

Adelie penguins spend their winters in the sea. They usually hunt in the water. Like all penguins, they are excellent and graceful swimmers. Adelie penguins live to be about twenty years old and adults weigh about ten pounds. Adults are usually about twenty-seven inches long. An Adelie colony can be made up of 100,000 to 250,000 pairs of penguins.

Dumont D'Urville named these penguins after his wife Adelle.

- Rachel, 11, California