The African penguin, or Spheniscus demersus, is a species of penguin that can be found all around the coast of the South Africa, from Namibia to Algoa Bay. It is the only species of penguin that lives in South Africa. Africans penguins have black feather on their backs and a pink circle around their eyes that arcs over to the beginning of their noses. They have white bellies and white necks with black bands on their bodies that forms a horseshoe-like shpae that reaches down to their feet.
The African penguin is different from other penguins because it does not live in a cold climate. Most other penguins live in freezing temperatures, but the African penguin does not. To combat the warmer temperatures, African penguins do many things to help keep them cool. Africans penguins have glands in the pink circles near their eyes that help them keep cool. As it gets hotter, blood is sent to the glands so that the air around the penguin can help cool it down. The hotter it gets, the pinker the gland becomes from the increase in blood that is being transported there. African penguins swim frequently to beat the heat and also stray away from sunny areas to stay cool.
African penguins can weigh from 4.4 to 11lbs(2kg to 5kg). Their height can vary from 2 to 2.25 feet(60 to 68cm). They are canrnivores that feed on small fish and can dive as far down as 196.85ft underwater(60meters). They have an average lifespan of 20 years.
African penguins make their burrow-like nests on rocky desolate places. They excavate the land and then make their nests using their excretement. They lay an average of two eggs and their chicks mature after two years of care from their parents who feed them.
African penguins have been listed as endangered since 2010 as their numbers are constanly decreasing because of overfishing as well as pollution. With pollution also diminishing the amount of fish in the sea, the African penguin is likely to go extinct if nothing is done to protect them. Thankfully, there are people already trying to save the species like the IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) which takes in abandoned chicks. You cna read more on what they do here.