African or Black-footed Penguin (Spheniscus demersus)

      African penguins grow up to be 26.8 to 27.6 feet tall and weigh 4.4 to 11 pounds. The average African penguins can live 10 to 11 years. They have spots on their front giving them a simple uniqueness and in addition to that, they have a loud call that sounds just like a donkey. Above their eyes, they have pink glands that turn pinker when the weather gets warmer. Every November and December they molt on land and after they go into the sea with their new plumage, in a few months they will come back the shore to nest. African penguins can swim 4 miles per hour but they reach a speed of 12 miles per hour when looking for some delicious prey. When looking for prey they dive 98 feet, but that is not the full depth they can reach, for two minutes. These unique penguins are vulnerable to extinction, so we should do everything in our power to help them.

    As their names states, the African penguin lives in Africa, the south to be specific. Most of their life is spent hunting for food at sea and when the breeding season comes they form big colonies on the rocky shores.

    African penguin’s diet consists of anchovies, pilchards, horse mackerel and round herrings, squid and crustaceans. When looking for a meal they may travel 68 miles on one trip for food.