Saturday, December 28, 2013

Have you eaten as much as a Galapagos penguin this Christmas?

Party Hat Penguin
Have you eaten a quarter of your body weight in food over the last 24 hours?

It may well feel like it, but the answer to this question is almost certainly no…unless you are a Galapagos penguin! In order to be in peak condition, Galapagos penguins require between a fifth and a quarter of their body weight in food every day. Unfortunately, many of the fish species which Galapagos penguins rely upon for food are becoming scarcer as a result of overfishing and global climate change, causing significant declines in population numbers and a reduction in breeding success. As a consequence of this and the other threats that Galapagos penguins face, the species is now one of the rarest penguins on the planet, and faces a 30% chance of extinction in the next century.

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