Animals have used the same technique to search for food that’s in short supply for at least 50 million years, a BBSRC-funded study suggests.
Creatures including penguins search for food using a mathematical pattern of movement called a Lévy walk. It might sound complex, but it is a random search strategy made up of small steps and a few larger steps. Although a Lévy walk is random, it’s the most efficient way to find food when it’s scarce.
Finding food in a timely fashion could be a matter of life or death. Choose the wrong direction and it could be curtains. But moving in a random search pattern is mathematically the best way to find isolated food.
natgeo Photo by @cristinamittermeier // Can you guess what is wrong with this penguin? We spent a month in Antarctica on assignment for @natgeo and it was not until the second week that I realized we had not seen snow once. Every day, however, we experienced several hours of incessant rain. As temperatures warm in Antarctica, the weather regime is changing from snow to rain. In the past, the penguin colony would be covered in snow but now, it is a large, muddy mess. Baby penguins are covered in fluffy down and they can easily preen themselves when it snows. When they get muddy and wet, their down loses its insulation ability and as temperatures drop at night, they become hypothermic and die. As the debate on weather or not to protect the Antarctic Peninsula starts to play out, I hope that the members of the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), who will be voting on this issue are inspired to protect it for all humanity. #Followmeat@cristinamittermeier and follow the conversation at @Sea_legacy
Today, on Penguin Awareness Day, we’re interested in the little-known facts about these charismatic birds. What are some penguin facts you think we should all be aware of?
Background image: Penguin in the Arctic by Nick Karvounis. CC0 public domain via Unsplash.
A same-sex pair of African penguins living at a Netherlands zoo stole an egg from another a heterosexual couple to raise as their own, and many people can’t help but root for them.
DierenPark Amersfoort, a zoo in the Dutch province of Utrecht, posted about the bold males on social media earlier this week. And so far, they seem to be great dads: “The gay couple are looking after the egg very well and take turns in keeping it warm,” zookeeper Marc Belt told Dutch News.
Belt said the penguin couple “acquired” the egg when no one was looking, but added that the penguin couple whose egg has been appropriated has already produced a new one.
