Hi today, i'm going to teach you about little blue penguins I hope you learn as much as I did.
Little blue penguins
Did you know little blue penguins are the smallest penguins in the world?
Stay tuned to learn more about Little Blue Penguin. This report will talk about what they look like, survival skills, what they eat and their predators.
What a Little Blue looks like
Adult little blue penguins are the size of a ruler (about 30 cm) and weigh about 1kg (which is 2 blocks of butter from the supermarket) .
Baby little blue penguins are about 15 cm tall.
They have blue backs so they blend in with the water if you’re looking down from the sky, and they have white tummies so any predators under them in the ocean think it’s the sky and clouds.
The feet of the little blue penguins are pink, but when they get embarrassed their feet turn bright pink.
Survival Skills
Little Blue Penguins have two sets of eyelids. One set is clear so when they are in the water, they can see through these goggles (kind of like the goggles we use when we go swimming). They can work like window wipers to keep sand out of their eyes on windy beaches.
When Little Blues drink water from the sea, it’s very salty. They have an amazing feature in their nostrils (also called nares) that means they can spit out the salt from the water.
In the tail of a little Blue they have a special gland that produces wax that they use to put on their feathers to make them waterproof which keeps the down feathers dry and means they don’t sink.
What Little Blue Penguins eat.
Little blues live close to the coastlines so it’s easy for them to get to the ocean to find food. They like to eat krill, baby octopus, pilchards and squid. They mostly shallow dive to get their food, but sometimes go to the sea floor for food.
Predators
Did you know that humans and dogs are the biggest predators of the Little Blue Penguins?
Humans drive vehicles that come close to areas where Little Blues make their nests. Little Blues don’t have the road safety skills that we humans have, and they sometimes wander onto coastal roads getting hit and killed.
We need to keep our dogs on a lead in areas where there are penguins, and keep the dogs away from the nesting areas. Some of the other predators on land are cats, ferrets and stoats.
Sharks, seals and sea lions are their predators from the sea. They can also get hit by boats and get caught in fishing nets.
You might ask what can you do to keep Little Blue Penguins safe?
You can slow down on the roads in sign posted penguin areas. And you can keep your dogs on a lead.
Or you can check out these websites to learn more
https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/penguins/little-penguin-korora/
https://www.westcoastpenguintrust.org.nz/
