Penguins, penguins and more penguins!
Anjani Ganase continues her Antarctic adventures remembering encounters with these most remarkable flightless birds. All photos by Anjani Ganase Gentoo penguins photo by Anjani Ganase The Antarctic continent is a massive icescape where only the most adaptable organisms can survive. Marine animals are abundant around Antarctica, and everywhere there are the penguins. Sharing a common ancestor with the albatrosses and petrels, penguins have ditched flying for stealthy swimming and gentlemanly walking. The earliest known penguins came about ~ 60 million years after the mass-extinction event that took out the dinosaurs. Today, penguins have refined their adaptations as they continue to occupy the most extreme and coldest continent of the planet, carving out their niche for survival. They have incredibly thick layers of densely packed and waterproof feather, thick skin and fat. Their vision is adapted for the icy water and they are masters of polar oceans. Because of the Avian flu...