One of the clumsiest penguins in the world… is actually a high-jump superstar!

Penguins can’t fly, but they sure can jump!

Hi everyone, and welcome back to another article of Bird Fun Facts :D I hope you’re having an excellent start to the day! Anyway, I bet you didn’t know that the Gentoo Penguin can jump over 3 metres (over 9 feet) high! :O

We’ll learn more about the Gentoo Penguins today!

Image credit: Australian Antarctic Programme. With flamboyant red-orange beaks, white-feather caps, and peach-colored feet, gentoo penguins stand out against their drab, rock-strewn Antarctic habitat!

Meet the Gentoo Penguin

Gentoo Penguins, with their distinctive bright red-orange beaks and fluffy white eyebrows, are not only cute - but also the acrobats of the sea.

Despite their reputation for being one of the silliest and clumsiest birds on land - after all, penguins are known for the way they waddle - Gentoo Penguins are actually high-jump superstars when launching themselves out of the water.

Image credit: iStock

So what is it they actually do?

When Gentoo Penguins swim, they’re underwater (obviously). But getting out of the water isn’t as simple as just looking for a set of stairs and then climbing out, the way we humans would do in a swimming pool.

And underwater may be where tasty fish live, but it’s always where predators lurk - so it’s imperative for the penguins to get out of harm’s way asap!

Image Credit: Nature Picture Library. Like all penguins, gentoos are awkward on land. But they’re pure grace underwater. They have streamlined bodies and strong, paddle-shaped flippers that propel them up to 22 miles an hour, faster than any other diving bird.

And because Mother Nature didn’t include stairs underwater for the penguins to climb out of, these birds have evolved to find their own way to getting out of the water. While underwater, right before they hit the surface, they LAUNCH themselves out like an underwater projectile - and shoot up to 3 metres high!

How do they do it? It's all thanks to their feathers!

While underwater, the birds wrap their bodies in a cloak of air bubbles that are trapped from their feathers. This provides them with extra buoyancy, allowing them to swim quickly to the surface. And, as mentioned earlier, once they are close to reaching the surface, the Gentoo Penguins give one final extra hard kick with their flippers, and BURST out of the water and leap to their destination.

And they’re just as acrobatic underwater, too

Gentoo Penguins are also known for their fast swimming speeds. They have been recorded swimming up to 37 km/hr (23 mph) in pursuit of their prey. This speed combined with their impressive jumps make them formidable hunters, capable of catching even the fastest of fish.

How did these birds get their name?

Fun fact: no one seems to know!

Some birds are named for their size (e.g., the Emperor Penguin got their name ‘cos they are the biggest penguins, the Bee Hummingbird is tiny and named after, well, a bee) some for their colours (Grey-headed Fish Eagles ‘cos they have grey heads) some birds are named for where they are found (Madagascar Fish Eagle ‘cos they are found in Madagascar!)

Image credit: BBC News. These charismatic waddlers, who populate the Antarctic Peninsula and numerous islands around the frozen continent, are the penguin world’s third largest members, reaching a height of 30 inches and a weight of 12 pounds.

So is Gentoo a place where these penguins are found?

Nope!

The application of "gentoo" to the penguin is unclear. Gentoo was an Anglo-Indian term to distinguish Hindus from Muslims - but this doesn’t seem to apply to the Gentoo Penguins.

Some linguists speculate that the English term may have originated from the Portuguese gentio ("pagan, gentile"), because the white patch on the bird's head was thought to resemble a turban.

It may also be a variation of another name for this bird, "Johnny penguin", with Johnny being Juanito in Spanish and sounds vaguely like gentoo. The Johnny rook, a predator, is likely named after the Johnny penguin.

So in terms of their scientific name - Pygoscelis papua, which I’m sure none of you guys care about lol - their specific name papua is incorrect as well! :O

In the original description of these penguins, the guy who studied them mistakenly assumed that the species occurred in Papua (New Guinea). But in reality, no penguins are found in New Guinea.

Image credit: WWF Canada

Anyway, they got their scientific name for this inaccuracy.

Ok well, that’s all for today! I just wanted to share some cool fun facts about this high-jump superstar :D Bye for now!