John Osterman, age 8, of Morton, Ill., for his question:
Can a Penguin swim?
Most pictures we see show the Penguin standing sedately on the frozen ground. He is a friendly bird. When visitors arrive at the South Pole., the penguin and his friends form a Welcoming Committee and waddle forward to greet them. Later, he shows the visitors his Merry antics in the sea. For Mr. Penguin is at his best in the water.
The handsome emperor penguin lives on and off the frozen shores of Antarctica, land of the South Pole. He stands more than three feet tall and tips the scales at 90 pounds. His black and white tuxedo outfit is made of short feathers, and it feels like soft, thick flat. That neat coat sheds the water, which is very important. For Mr. Penguin is the very best swimming bird in the world.
He feeds on fish, on the meaty little sardines that swarm in the chilly water. When dinner time comes, the Penguin joins his friends and waddles down to the sea. In he dives, head first, under the icy waves. He uses his flippers with powerful strokes and swims as if he were flying underwater. He uses his wide, Webbed feet like the rudder of a boat to guide him up and down and from side to side.
Under the water, the Penguin can twist and turn like a living Submarine, and he seems to enjoy all these Merry antics. The icy water does not bother him at aii.. The fun is not Over., even when he has caught and swallowed his dinner. When the time comes t0 leaye the Sea, the Penguin may be faced with a Steep Wall of ice. Somehow he manages to spring up from the water with a four or five foot leap into the air.
He lands with a plonk, and his big, fat body starts to skid over the slippery ice. Mr. Penguin is ready for this. He spreads out flat and uses his feet and his flippers to guide himself along like a toboggan.. He brakes himself to a stop, and the fun is over until it is time to go fishing for dinner again. The penguin pubs himself up to his stately height and waddles away. He may stand quietly while he digests his fish or, if it is the right time of year, he waddles off to feed his hungry chick.
There are several different penguins in the world, and all of them live in the Southern Hemisphere. The great emperor is the giant of the family, and the smallest penguin is about one foot tall. There are penguins off the shores of Australia, South Africa and South America, and some of them live off Peru and the Galapagos Islands near the equator. And every Penguin can swim better than any other kind of bird in the world.