There are 17 species of penguins, and none of them come from the northern hemisphere. Penguins won't swim through warm water — that's why they're confined to the southern hemisphere. The Galapagos penguin makes its home the farthest north near the Galapagos Islands. Of course, penguins can be found everywhere in the world if zoos are taken into consideration.
Penguin facts:
- On land, penguins may walk with a funny waddle, but they're actually moving at about the same speed as a person walking.
- Penguins are deep divers, diving deeper than another other species of bird at almost 900 feet (275 meters) and holding their breath for some 20 minutes.
- The largest penguin is the Emperor penguin. These penguins can grow to 4 feet (1.2 meters) tall and weigh 100 pounds (45 kilograms) or more.
- The smallest penguin is the Fairy penguin at about 16 inches (41 cm) tall and about 2 pounds (1 kilograms).
- The Macaroni penguin is the most populous at about 12 million pairs.
- Only six species of penguin actually live in the Antarctica area.
