Interesting Facts

 
Eggs:  The parents take turns turning the eggs for eight weeks.  Some penguins lay bigger eggs and so they take longer to turn.  A chicken's egg and a penguin's egg go through the same cycle.  The chick chips through the egg shell with its egg tooth.  All penguins have two eggs.
Drawing of penguins' eggs
Gland: Penguins are born with a gland which is close to their beaks, when they drink the saltwater from the sea the water goes through the gland and the salt gets kept in that gland.  When the gland is full of salt the penguin goes onto a rock and knocks his beak against it and all the salt empties out and the penguin can start drinking again. 
penguin swimming
Photograph by kind permission of Peter Pickford
jpic@lantic.co.za
 Written by Blair and Jehan.
Information from:
Penguins by Dorling Kindersley
http://www.askjeeves.com
Irene, a volunteer guide  from Simon's Town Museum, Cape Town
Drawing by Jehan.  Photograph by Peter Pickford


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