Penguin Awareness Day is an unofficial holiday which is celebrated annually on January 20th. This holiday is used to celebrate and commemorate these fascinating flightless birds which are loved by people all over the world. It’s also a day to bring attention to the plight of these birds whose numbers seem to be shrinking faster and faster each and every day.
When is Penguin Awareness Day?
This year (2023) January 20 (Friday)
Next year (2024) January 20 (Saturday)
Last year (2022) January 20 (Thursday)
History of Penguin Awareness Day
While no one knows exactly when Penguin Awareness Day was created or by whom, it is known that the term “penguin” first appeared in print form during the 1500s. It was a name that was originally applied to a short-winged black and white diving seabird known as an Auk. A bird that is now extinct. However, the origin of this word is still largely unknown. Some people say that it comes from the Welsh word “gwyn”, a word which means “white-head.”
Fun Penguin Facts
Penguins are fun animals which are loved by people everywhere. Which is probably why people spend so much time exchanging fun penguin facts. Below are some facts about these majestic aquatic birds:
Emperor Penguins can be as large as 3.7 feet tall – making them the largest of all penguins
Penguins can dive as fast as 7.5 miles per hour
The earliest known penguin lived over 65 million years ago
There are 18 different species of penguins
Most penguins are monogamous
The average wild penguin can live up to 20 years
All penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere
Celebrating Penguin Awareness Day
The best way to celebrate Penguin Awareness Day is to spend the day learning everything you can about these fascinating birds. Things which include diet, how they live, where they live and how climate change has affected them. If there is a zoo exhibit in your area that features penguins, then this day is a good day to take the family out to see it.
For those of you who want to spend the day inside with a good movie instead of going out to your local zoo, you can always watch one of the many penguin-themed movies and documentaries that exist. These include: March of the Penguins, Happy Feet, The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper, Mr. Popper’s Penguins, The Penguin King and Surf’s Up.
Conclusion
Penguin Awareness Day is a great day to spend some time thinking about the world’s favorite aquatic, flightless birds. This allows us to not only truly appreciate these majestic birds but also help to remind us that climate change is dramatically altering their habitat.
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