Little Blue Penguin

Facts about Little Blue Penguin. "Scientific name for Little Blue Penguin Eudyptua Minor". The Little Blue Penguin is mostly found in Australia and though you can find some Little Blue Penguins in New Zealand and Chile. A very small number of this species can be found around Tasmania. The Little Blue Penguin is not a threatened species. Since their breeding doesn't start until at least three years of age, there reproduction period is not very long in the wild.

Features of the Little Blue Penguin

The Little Blue Penguin is the smallest of all penguins in the world weigh 3.3 pounds (1.5 kg) on average. Sightly taller than 13 inches (33 cm). This small size has seen it gain the name the Fairy Penguin. The name Little Blue Penguin owes to their deep blue color. They have a white front and a blue back and head. Little Blue Penguin has developing up to four layers of feathers so they can stay warm in the colder areas. The inner layers go down on the body which is why they are able to have such a successful barrier from the cold. The oil on the outer layer helps them to move through the water with speed and grace.

Diet of the Little Blue Penguin

The Little Blue Penguin does not require so much food daily owing to its small size. Their diet however consists of krill, small fish and squid. They can also dive into shallow waters and feed on whatever is found there. The Little Blue Penguins are known to hunt inshore so long as there is a sizable food supply and they can go as deep as 20m. One an average, these species travel almost 50 miles (80km) per day. They can swim up to (1.6 mph) 2.5 km/hour. Little Blue Penguin don't drink water, since they take in seawater as they swallow their meal and like all penguins, they have a that special gland that removes salt from their bodies after swallowing saltwater.

Predators of the Little Blue Penguin

The Little Blue Penguin survival rate in the wild is not very long and most little penguins die after being set free of their parents care. The Little Blue Penguin is preyed by cats, rats, sharks, gulls, weasels, seals, foxes, snakes and foxes. Some of them actually get trapped and die in fishing nets as they hunt for food.

Reproduction of the Little Blue Penguin

The Little Blue Penguin is known to live in the same colony for almost a year; mating pairs maintains one burrow. The penguins are very social with one another in the colony and year in year out they return to the same nesting area. The Little Blue Penguin begins to mate at around three years of age. They choose their life time mates during this time and don’t get any other mates till they die. The mating season for this species occurs between August and December. each year. Little Blue Penguin begins, have the shortest breeding cycle of all the Penguin which lasts only for 50 days. The Little Blue Penguin like many other penguins lays two eggs that are incubated and hatched in five weeks. If the female lays more eggs during August the chicks are set free of their parents between 57 to 80 days old.

About the Little Blue Penguin

The estimated amount of the Little Blue Penguin is from 400,000 to 600,000 around the world.
The average life span of the Little Blue Penguin in the wild is only about 6 ½ years. In captivity the Little Blue Penguin have been known to live up to 15 years. "Scientific name for Penguin is Sphenisciformes".