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| Black-footed Penguins weigh about 6.5 pounds and grow to height of
28 inches. African penguins have a broad black band that runs in an inverted
horseshoe shape around their front. Their chest is dotted with a few black
spots in random pattern. The body of the Black-footed Penguin is shaped like a
bowling pin and its feet are webbed. |
A Bowling Pin? |
| Of all eighteen species of penguins recognized
in the world, the Black-footed Penguins are the only ones found in warm
southern and southwestern Africa. . It is found only off the coast of South
Africa. They breed on twenty-four islands offshore between Namibia and Port
Elizabeth, South Africa. On the mainland, there are colonies of penguins at
Betty's Bay and Simonstown, South Africa, and in Namibia.
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Of all eighteen species of penguins recognized
in the world, the Black-footed Penguins are the only ones found in warm
southern and southwestern Africa. . It is found only off the coast of South
Africa. They breed on twenty-four islands offshore between Namibia and Port
Elizabeth, South Africa. On the mainland, there are colonies of penguins at
Betty's Bay and Simonstown, South Africa, and in Namibia.
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The
Black-footed Penguin makes a loud donkey-like braying noise, earning them the
nickname “Jackass penguin.” |
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The Jackass
penguin is known to eat twenty-five species of fish, eighteen species of
crustaceans, three species of squid, and one species of polychaete. Forty-two
percent of its diet is made up of fish. |
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African Penguin Chick |
Black-footed
Penguins lay two or three eggs at a time. There is not much vegetation on the
shores where they nest so they must make their nests from hardened guano. The
young are cared for by both parents in nests that the adults make or in burrows
that they find. The incubation period starts anywhere from mid-November to
early December and continues for five weeks. These penguins may use a special
fold of skin extending from the stomach to cover the eggs and keep them warm.
After hatching, the offspring are fed by regurgitation and watched over for
eight weeks. |
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African
penguins don't learn to swim until they are about nine weeks
old. |
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Upon reaching
maturity (only 40% ever do), Black-footed Penguins find a mate and remain with
them for the rest of their lives. These penguins live and hunt together and may
look for food 30 miles from their nesting grounds. Jackass Penguins are able to
get this far from shore because they can swim up to 4.5 miles per
hour! |
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