1. Penguins always bring a smile to your face.
Admit it. There is no staying a grumpy-pants when you click through a slide deck of penguin photos.
2. Their clumsiness and vulnerability on land entertains and creates an emotional bond with us.
We laugh at what seems like their slapstick pratfalls on the ice, but we also have empathy as who among us has not literally fallen flat on our face. We recognize the penguins incredible commitment to raising their young, sometimes in nasty conditions, and we like to think we are as committed to our own children.
3. Penguins can withstand the harshest weather; raise chicks on ice; and yet the 18 species are all at risk because of us.
Whether it is climate change, depletion of food from overfishing and human pollution, loss of habitat from human development, and other causes, we need to care for penguins as they are the proverbial canary of Antarctica.
BONUS!
Test your penguin knowledge with this quiz from the Pew Charitable Trust. Then sign the petition (on same web page) to encourage the US State Department to reach and sign agreements to protect penguins in the Ross Sea and Antarctica.
Share why you love penguins!
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