Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 03/12/2012 - 10:29
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Impacts of the Larsen Ice Shelf System on the Weddell Sea

Hello my name is Mr. Berger and one of my students is friends with Amber Lancaster on the trip. The students had a few questions about the penguins and Antarctica: -How long will it take the penguins to travel from Chile to Brazil? -How do the penguins swim so far when they migrate? Don't they get tired? -We learned that the ice of Antarctica is very thick, how does it get that thick? -How do the penguins get their feathers off and get new ones on? -How fast do the penguins swim? -About how many feathers does a penguin have?

Thank you very much for your time and we hope that you can answer some of our questions.

Mr. Berger and Kindergarten Class

Tue, 03/13/2012 - 17:54

Amber Lancaster

No one on board this boat is an expert in penguins, but we put our heads together and came up with a few answers to your questions. My roommate is studying to be a veterinarian so she helped me with a lot of the answers. Sorry for the delayed response, you guys had such great questions!!!* How long will it take the penguins to travel from Chile to Brazil?
Anywhere from 1-2 months. It depends on exactly where they start and where they decide to stop.
* How do the penguins swim so far when they migrate? Don't they get tired?
Penguins have a lot of adaptations for dealing with fatigue. They don't swim all the time and can float on the surface when they get tired. They also have to hunt as they swim, so they take breaks to catch food and eat.
* We learned that the ice of Antarctica is very thick, how does it get that thick?
Antarctica is actually a desert and gets very little snow each year. However, because it's so cold, the ice never melts and so even though very little snow falls, none of it ever leaves. The ice has been getting thicker every year for millions of year.
* How do the penguins get their feathers off and get new ones on?
The penguins lose their feathers because of hormones, nutrition and the amount of light. The feathers just fall out, kind of like when baby teeth fall out. New feathers are made that take the place of the baby feathers which have fallen out.
* How fast do the penguins swim?
I'm not sure what is the fastest speed they can swim, but these penguins can dive at a rate of 2 meters per second (about 6 feet per second). They generally swim about 23 km (or 15 miles) each day.
* About how many feathers does a penguin have?
This is a tough question and depends on the type of penguin. Scientists estimate somewhere between 10,000 and 100,000 feathers per animal. Because Magellenic penguins are on the small side, they probably have somewhere around 30,000 feathers.