Do Penguins Live at the North Pole?

Penguins are restricted to the Southern Hemisphere.

Penguins do not live at the North Pole. They only live in the Southern Hemisphere and never come across polar bears as those big white bears live only in the Northern Hemisphere. The black and white aquatic bird has its home down south and has never been seen living above the Equator apart from in zoos.

Location

Penguins are found on the coast of several continents in the Southern Hemisphere. They live in Antarctica, on the southernmost tip of South America, South Australia and New Zealand, Southern Africa and on islands in the South Pacific, South Atlantic and South Indian oceans such as the Galapagos Islands.

Species

Penguins eat fish and need to live by the sea

There are 17 species of penguin, all of which are aquatic and eat fish. Therefore their habitat is by the sea for easy pickings.

Evolution

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, flightless penguins are related to the flying seabirds albatrosses, shearwaters and petrels. Fossils of the birds' common ancestor, dating from 50 million years ago, are only found in the present day geographical distribution of penguins, which explains why penguins never colonized the North Pole as they evolved only in that area which is now the Southern Hemisphere.

References

• Penguins: Species
• Penguin World: Distribution Map
• Encyclopedia Britannica: Evolution of Penguins