Information about Little Penguins
Taronga Zoo has many animals one of these animals are called Little Penguins.
See below to find out more information about the Little Penguins.
Scientific Name-
Although we know the penguin as 'penguin' it is also called 'Eudyptulo minor' .This is the Penguins scientific name
Body Covering-
A Little penguin is a bird and is covered with feathers. Their feathers are short and thick. They form a waterproof coat. The feathers are black or bluish-gray and the belly feathers are white.
Relative size and weight-
The relative size of a little penguin is below the height of a baby, the penguin is 30cm tall. The weight of a little penguin in 1kg. For a small penguin it is pretty heavy.
Behaviour-
The little penguin has up to nine different calls ranging from short, sharp barks when at sea and sharp, snorting yelps when disturbed. Little penguins are excellent swimmers and are able to spend long periods at sea but they generally spend the day at sea and return to their colonies after dark.
Diet-
Little penguins can swim 8 kilometres per hour and dive as deep as 60 metres to catch pilchards, whitebait and other small fishes. During breeding they generally feed on more then 1000kg of small fish or waitbait. Aduts spend their day at sea hunting for fish, At the end of the hunt, the Little Penguins gather as a group and stay safe by returning to shore as one big group.Fish are then eaten and then regurgitated straight into the young's mouth.
See below to find out more information about the Little Penguins.
Scientific Name-
Although we know the penguin as 'penguin' it is also called 'Eudyptulo minor' .This is the Penguins scientific name
Body Covering-
A Little penguin is a bird and is covered with feathers. Their feathers are short and thick. They form a waterproof coat. The feathers are black or bluish-gray and the belly feathers are white.
Relative size and weight-
The relative size of a little penguin is below the height of a baby, the penguin is 30cm tall. The weight of a little penguin in 1kg. For a small penguin it is pretty heavy.
Behaviour-
The little penguin has up to nine different calls ranging from short, sharp barks when at sea and sharp, snorting yelps when disturbed. Little penguins are excellent swimmers and are able to spend long periods at sea but they generally spend the day at sea and return to their colonies after dark.
Diet-
Little penguins can swim 8 kilometres per hour and dive as deep as 60 metres to catch pilchards, whitebait and other small fishes. During breeding they generally feed on more then 1000kg of small fish or waitbait. Aduts spend their day at sea hunting for fish, At the end of the hunt, the Little Penguins gather as a group and stay safe by returning to shore as one big group.Fish are then eaten and then regurgitated straight into the young's mouth.
Habitat-
At Taronga Zoo the Penguins live in a beautiful large enclosure which make the penguins feel more spread out and have lots more room to swim with their family and friends. There are many items and shells for the penguins to play with but also big rocks to swim around. In the encloser there are air vents on the ground temperature of 1-3C as well as the heat on tthe ground to relax in the sun. The Little Penguins usually nest in burrows in the sand dunes that are 60 to 80cm long underwater but they will also nest in rock piles, caves and even under under houses/building.
The Little Penguin is the only penguin species sill living on mainland Australia. Penguins have coped with the land temperatures above 35C and still manage to stay healthy .
The Little Penguin is the only penguin species sill living on mainland Australia. Penguins have coped with the land temperatures above 35C and still manage to stay healthy .