Are penguins birds or not birds? The answer is quite simple: Yes. They are considered birds but are flightless birds. There is so much confusion surrounding their species because they can swim underwater and can breathe on land, making them mammals, but they hatch from eggs and are warm-blooded, making them birds. Bird or mammal, it doesn’t matter, what matters is the fact that the Galapagos penguin is endangered and is at risk of extinction.
The Galapagos penguin has a small population to begin with, even without their being endangered. Their population is small because they reproduce in small amounts each year. According to the Animal Diversity Organization each year, a mother will reproduce two to three times, and each time, they will lay only about two eggs. According to Seaworld’s page about penguins, the reason they only lay two eggs is because each egg needs to incubate and there are only two penguins that can only incubate one egg at a time. Incubation is important because it keeps the egg warm in a cold climate. If it weren’t incubated, the egg would freeze and die. In addition to them being so small in size, this number decreases even more as a result of two big issues.
The first issue they face that causes their population to decline is climate change. The Galapagos penguin lives in the Isabela and Fernandina islands. The weather on the islands is surprisingly hot even though typical penguins live in the cold, nevertheless, the ocean temperature is cold. Galapagos penguins need cold water temperatures because it is what they’re used to to survive. Climate change causes warmer water which will affect penguins’ prey. With climate change, the cold water currents will be blocked and then the fish that the penguins rely on will die because they’re not used to high temperatures. Less prey leads to starvation which means a decrease in their population. When they starve, not only does it cause death, but they can’t reproduce when they’re starving, meaning fewer and fewer baby penguins.
The second issue they face is bycatch and pollution. Ocean pollution has become more and more evident as time goes on and our ocean is growing increasingly dirtier. Pollution not only ruins the beautiful view of the ocean but also negatively affects so many species that live or find their prey in the ocean. The Galapagos penguin will fish for their prey and will mistake plastic and trash for food. If plastic or anything toxic gets stuck in their throat, they will die. Bycatch is when a fisherman catches something they didn’t intend to in their net. Penguins are bycatch because as they are swimming for their prey, they accidentally get caught in fishermen’s nets. The penguins could choke because the net gets wrapped around their throat. When they become bycatch, they have a low chance of surviving.
It is important to save species all over the world, especially these penguins because their numbers are decreasing at a rapid rate. Humans are the cause of climate change and pollution so it is our responsibility to save this species and to make sure they don’t become extinct.
