© Steve Turner/Oxford Scientific/Jupiter Images

From Chilly Willy to Opus to Tux, the Linux mascot, penguins have had a special spot in popular culture for quite a while. In fact, both the real creatures and their animated counterparts have hit the big screen in a big way. "Happy Feet" hits theaters this month and the surprisingly popular documentary "March of the Penguins" was the fourth film of its kind on record (traditional documentary) to garner national release. It had a worldwide gross of $122,612,055, playing for more than 160 days, in 2,506 theaters at its widest release!

Obviously, penguins are fascinating. Is it the human-like quality of walking upright that makes penguins so alluring? Or maybe it’s their "fancy dress." Really, how many creatures sport permanent tuxedos? Whatever it is, these flightless, aquatic birds intrigue us. But, in all the fascination, many of us are still in the dark about penguins. For example, most people only associate penguins with severely cold weather and ice. And, since we most often picture them waddling around on the ice, we imagine them to be clumsy and somewhat slow. However, these associations and assumptions are not entirely accurate.

The plain fact is, not all penguins live in super cold climates. Within the penguin family, there are several species. The total number is debatable; some say there are 17 species while others say as many as 19 exist. All penguins reside in the Southern Hemisphere. But most do not live in Antarctica. In fact, only two species actually live on the Antarctic coastline – the Emperor (those seen in “March of the Penguins”) and the Adélie.

There are penguins in and around Australia and New Zealand. You can find penguins in many areas along the tip of South Africa. The Falkland Islands house penguins. And you can find penguins up and around the coast of South America and in the Galapagos Islands. Located on the equator, the Galapagos Islands are the warmest penguin home of all. With average temperatures of around 73 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s a big difference from the average temperature in Antarctica, which is minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit! So, if you’ve ever been to the zoo, observed penguins in an area that didn’t resemble a deep freezer and wondered if they’re OK – they probably are.

Now that we’ve cleared up the cold confusion, let’s cover slow and clumsy. It is true that their mobility on land is measured by an inelegant waddle. To understand why penguins waddle, you must consider their shape. While the different species do vary in overall size, sport individual bill shapes and bear distinct markings – some of which include color – penguins are all pretty much shaped the same way. Like a torpedo. A torpedo with a relatively large head and two short, wide, three-toed feet. The feet are set back, very close to the tail. This is why penguins stand upright on land. The waddle effect happens because penguins have a very short stance, or distance between their feet when walking. Imagine having your legs tied together just above your ankles. Then think about walking like that. Better still, have you ever gone to try on a pair of shoes at a big super store like Wal-Mart or Target – where the shoes are tied together? When you attempt to walk in the shoes as you’re trying them out, it’s pretty difficult, right? And you end up sort of rocking side-to-side as you walk. That’s what it’s like for a penguin.

Little Blue penguin © Tom Brakefield/Getty Images; Macaroni penguin ©Galen Rowell/Corbis On the left, a Little Blue penguin and on the right, a Macaroni penguin

The funny thing about this is that, while it can make a penguin appear clumsy on land, this actually works the opposite under water. Off land, penguins are incredibly graceful – and fast. They can travel as fast as 11 to 15 miles per hour. Their shape, feet and wings make it all possible. Although penguins do not soar through the air, they do use their wings to fly. Fly through the water, that is. A penguin’s wings are very different from those of other birds. In fact, they are really more like a seal’s flippers. You can actually catch a glimpse of this grace among penguins on land. When in a snow-filled or icy environment, penguins will travel by tobogganing instead of walking. They flop down on their bellies and use their feet and wings to slide across the ice and snow.

Penguins have one other big difference from air-bound birds. Birds that fly through the air have very light-weight skeletons because their bones are hollow. Penguins have heavier, denser bones. This is important because penguins must be able to dive for food. If their bones were light and hollow, they would be too buoyant in the water and would merely float. To understand this, let’s consider a submarine.

© Steve Turner/Oxford Scientific/Jupiter Images A group of Adélie penguins

A submarine controls its buoyancy using ballast tanks. The ballast tanks can be alternately filled with water or air. When the submarine is on the surface, the ballast tanks are filled with air. The submarine's overall density is less than that of the surrounding water. As the submarine dives, the ballast tanks are flooded with water to make it heavier. And the air in the ballast tanks is vented from the submarine until its overall density is greater than the surrounding water. A penguin’s skeleton acts like the water-filled ballast tanks on a submarine, giving it enough weight to move below the surface of the water.

Because penguins need air, they can’t stay submerged for too long. While traveling through the water, they intermittently soar up and out of the water to take a deep breath and dive again. This activity resembles what porpoises do, so it is called porpoising. When it’s time to return to land, penguins again resemble humans by catching a wave and bodysurfing back to shore.

Galapagos – Spheniscus mendiculus
Home: Galapagos Islands (on the equator)
Interesting facts: To keep cool, they will stand upright with their wings spread out to the sides and fluff their feathers. This helps dissipate heat from their bodies.