Penguins

Keepers say it was love at first sight for Sphen and Magic when they met for the first time in 2018.

Sphen, Australian Penguin of Famous Same-Sex Couple, Dies at Age 11

Sphen and his longtime partner Magic got together at Sea Life Sydney Aquarium in 2018. They successfully hatched two foster chicks and became "international queer icons"

While penguins have feathers that shield their skin from radiation, their eyes remain unprotected. Increased ultraviolet radiation exposure could also have harmful effects for Antarctic organisms like seals, krill and plankton, per a new paper.

Antarctica's Ozone Hole Is Persisting Later Into the Year, Raising Concerns for Wildlife

As a result of the longer-lasting hole, harmful ultraviolet radiation is reaching Earth during a time when young penguins and seals are more vulnerable, scientists say

Penguins surround the post office at Port Lockroy, a British outpost on Goudier Island.

You Could Run a 'Penguin Post Office' in Antarctica

Three new hires will spend five months living among gentoo penguins and sorting postcards at the world's southernmost post office

Emperor penguins are the largest penguins in the world, but they're at risk of disappearing because of human-caused climate change.

Scientists Discover Four New Emperor Penguin Colonies From Satellite Images of Antarctica

The findings are a rare bright spot for the birds, which scientists predict will be mostly extinct by 2100

A turtle appears to smile as a dragonfly alights on its nose.

See 25 Breathtaking Images From the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest

Representing some of the world's best nature photography, the pictures are being put to a popular vote for the People's Choice Award

Our ten most-read stories of the year featured the author of Anne of Green Gables, tiny penguins, Queen Charlotte and more.

Our Top Ten Stories of 2023

From the world's oldest dog to the real history behind "Oppenheimer," these were the magazine's most-read articles of the year

Researchers studied African penguins in the colony at Zoomarine Italia in Rome.

African Penguins Tell Each Other Apart by Their Polka Dot Patterns

New research suggests the birds may find their mates in crowded colonies by looking at their chest plumage

A zoo employee weighs a meerkat during the annual weigh-in.

London Zoo Weighs All 14,000 of Its Animals, 'From the Tallest Giraffe to the Tiniest Tadpole'

The annual measurements help zookeepers track each animal's health over time

An artist's interpretation of what Wilson's little penguins would have looked like

New Extinct Species of 'Ridiculously Cute,' Tiny Penguins Discovered in New Zealand

Scientists identified the diminutive birds after finding two of their fossilized skulls

Tourists on a cruise spotted a rare, giant phantom jellyfish in Fournier Bay of Anvers Island off the Antarctic Peninsula last year.

How Vacationers on Antarctic Cruises Are Filling in Scientific Gaps

From ships and submarines, citizen scientists can access remote areas ripe for new discoveries. But does the research make up for the climate impact?

Emperor penguins rely on sea ice to reproduce and, as a result, are vulnerable to global warming.

Scientists Discover an Emperor Penguin Colony From Poop Stains in Satellite Images

Researchers pinpointed the group of roughly 500 birds in West Antarctica

An artist's concept of Kumimanu fordycei and Petradyptes stonehousei

Fossils of a 340-Pound Giant Penguin Found in New Zealand

Paleontologists unearthed the bones of two new penguin species that lived 50 million years ago

Algoa Bay, South Africa, is home to nearly half of the world’s remaining African penguins, whose numbers have fallen as much as 98 percent since 1900.

These Artificial Nests Are Helping African Penguins Beat the Heat

Ceramic nests deployed on penguin colonies in South Africa could shield the endangered seabirds from rising temperatures

An Adélie penguin

Adélie Penguins Are Dwindling in East Antarctica

Researchers blame too much summer sea ice for causing a downward spiral in one colony

In addition to sorting mail and manning the gift shop, the women will help keep an eye on the 1,500 penguins who live at Port Lockroy.

Meet the Four Women Who Will Run Antarctica's ‘Penguin Post Office’

Selected from 6,000 applicants, the workers will spend five months counting penguins and sending mail from the seventh continent

The current rate of climate change does not bode well for penguins.

Penguins Might Not Be Ready to Adapt to Modern Climate Change

A new study looking at genomes and the fossil record shows that penguins evolve slower than other birds

The Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica

Antarctica’s 'Doomsday Glacier' Melting at Fastest Rate in 5,500 Years

Researchers used penguin bones and shells to track ice loss in the Thwaites and Pine Island glaciers

Korora, the world’s smallest living penguin

Hundreds of Little Blue Penguins Are Turning Up Dead in New Zealand

Rising ocean temperatures are likely causing the flightless birds to starve to death

The vehicle, ECHO, was designed by the Marine Animal Remote Sensing Lab at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. ECHO is part of a large-scale research project that monitors the impact of human-induced climate change on the Southern Ocean.

This Tiny Yellow Robot Spies on Antarctica's Emperor Penguins

The vehicle dubbed ECHO slowly rolls up to the birds without stressing them and may allow researchers to monitor their ecosystem more closely

Gentoo penguins may become more numerous in parts of Antarctica that were once too icy for the temperate birds. 

New Antarctic Penguin Colonies Discovered Farther South Than Normal

As the climate warms, gentoo penguins are expanding to habitats that were previously too icy for them to raise chicks

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