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Penguins have long captured

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the imagination and the hearts

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of people the world over.

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But while popular culture

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depicts them as clumsy, adorable birds

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with endlessly abundant populations,

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the truth is that penguins are exceedingly graceful,

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often ornery,

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and their populations are in rapid free fall.

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Their real life situation is far more precarious

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than people think.

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And if current trends do not change,

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it may not be long

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before penguins can only be found in movies.

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There are many things about penguins

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that make them odd birds, so to speak.

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For one thing,

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they are one of the few bird species that cannot fly,

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having evolved from flight-capable birds

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about 60 million years ago.

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Surprisingly, their closest living relative

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is the albatross,

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a bird known for its enormous wingspan

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and extraordinary soaring abilities.

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It may seem strange

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that losing the ability to fly

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would be an evolutionary advantage,

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but the penguin's short, flipper-like wings

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and solid bones

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allow them to swim faster and dive deeper

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than any other bird on Earth,

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filling an ecological niche that no other bird can.

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Penguins inhabit the southern hemisphere,

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being one of the few bird species

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able to breed in the coldest environments.

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But contrary to popular belief,

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they are not restricted to cold regions

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nor are there any at the North Pole.

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In fact, only 4 of the 18 penguin species

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regularly live and breed in Antarctica.

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Most penguins live in subtemperate

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to temperate regions.

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And the Galapagos penguin even lives and breeds

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right near the equator

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off the coast of South America.

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They are also found in South Africa,

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Namibia,

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Australia,

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and New Zealand,

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as well as on a number of islands

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in the southern Atlantic,

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Pacific,

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Indian,

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and Antarctic Oceans.

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Although penguins spend 75% of their lives at sea,

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they must come to shore every year

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to reproduce and to molt their feathers.

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They do this in a variety of places,

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from the temporary ice sheets of the Antarctic

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to the beaches of South Africa and Namibia,

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to the rocky shores of subantarctic islands,

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to the craggy lava surfaces in the Galapagos.

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Different penguin species

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have different nesting practices.

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Some dig burrows into dirt, sand, or dried guano;

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some nest in tussock grasses;

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some build nests out of small rocks, sticks, and bones;

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while others don't build any nests at all.

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Although most penguins lay a clutch of two eggs,

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the two largest species,

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the King and the Emperor,

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lay a single egg

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that they incubate on top of their feet

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for approximately two months.

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Unfortunately, 15 of the 18 penguin species

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are currently listed as threatened,

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near-threatened,

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or endangered

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by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

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In the last several decades,

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we have seen the world populations

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of most penguin species decline

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by up to 90%,

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with two of them,

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the Yellow-eyed and Galapagos penguins,

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down to just a few thousand birds.

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Penguins are an indicator species,

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the proverbial "canary in the coal mine."

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Simply put, if penguins are dying,

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it means our oceans are dying.

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And sadly, most of this decline is attributable

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to human activities.

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Historically, penguins have had to deal

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with multiple disturbances.

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The mass collection of penguin eggs

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and the harvesting

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of the seabird guano they nested in

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caused the dramatic decline

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of several penguin species.

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If you're wondering

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what humans would want with seabird poop,

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it was used as an ingredient

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in fertilizer and in gunpowder,

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being so valuable

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that in the 19th century,

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it was known as white gold.

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Current threats to penguins include the destruction

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of both marine and terrestrial habitats,

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introduced predators,

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entrapment in fishing nets,

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and pollution from plastics and chemicals.

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There have also been several large-scale oil spills

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over the past 50 years

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that have killed or impacted

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tens of thousands of penguins around the world.

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But the two major threats to penguins today

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are global warming

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and overfishing.

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Global warming impacts penguins in multiple ways,

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from interrupting the production of krill

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due to decreased sea ice formation in the Antarctic,

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to increasing the frequency

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and severity of storms

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that destroy nests,

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to shifting the cold water currents

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carrying the penguins' prey too far away

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from penguin breeding and foraging grounds.

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Even though humans

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may be the greatest threat to penguins,

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we are also their greatest hope.

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Many research and conservation projects

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are underway to protect penguin habitats

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and restore vulnerable populations.

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With a little help from us

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and some changes in the practices

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that impact our planet and oceans,

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there is hope that our tuxedo-clad friends

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will still be around in the next century.