Happy Feet and the Skinny on Penguins

In the film Happy Feet, Mumble and Gloria dance and sing their way into the hearts of moviegoers across the country. While actual penguins can't cut a rug like Savion Glover or belt out a tune like Christina Aguilera, here are some facts about the real birds and krill, one of their favorite meals.

General Penguin Facts

• Penguins are found only in the southern hemisphere. Most of them live in Antarctica, but they can also be found in South America, Southern Africa and Tasmania.



• Three penguin species are featured prominently in the movie Happy Feet — Emperor (played by Mumble), Adelie (played by Ramon) and Rockhopper (played by Lovelace).



• All penguins eat krill, a tiny, shrimp-like crustacean. For Emperor, Adelie, and Rockhopper penguins, krill is a more important food source than fish. While the film addresses overfishing of what appears to be mackerel, it's krill fishing that could have the greatest impact on penguin populations.



• [SPOILER ALERT] Happy Feet ends with a ban on fishing in Antarctica providing abundant penguin food. In reality, fishing for krill is poised to increase dramatically. We expect krill fishing to expand by as much as four times in the coming year.

Emperor Penguins

• Emperor penguins are the tallest and heaviest penguins in the world, standing taller than four feet and weighing 75 pounds.



• Emperor penguins are serially monogamous. They remain faithful to one mate each breeding season, but then find a new mate each year.



• Emperor penguins can swim more than 900 miles in a single foraging trip, and can dive deeper and longer than any other bird. Emperor penguins feed primarily on krill, but also eat fish and squid. Once the Emperor chick is old enough, it will join its parents and go to the sea for the summer to feed, but nobody knows where.

Adelie Penguins

• Adelie penguins, which have the iconic tuxedo plumage, grow to be two feet tall and weigh approximately 10 pounds.



• Adelie penguins breed further south than any other bird and breed during the Antarctic summer between October and February.



• Adelie penguins feed mainly on krill, but also eat fish.

Rockhopper Penguins

• Rockhopper penguins can be recognized by their distinctive long, yellow eyebrows and red eyes. They stand just shy of two feet and weigh approximately seven pounds.



• Rockhopper penguins, whose diets are 60-70% krill, are one of the smallest penguins.



• Rockhopper penguin populations have declined more than 30% in the last 30 years, which classifies them as "vulnerable" by the World Conservation Union.

Krill

• Penguins, seals, whales and other seabirds eat an estimated 150-300 million tonnes of krill each year.



• The green phytoplankton that krill eat can be seen shining through their transparent stomachs.



• Crabeater seals and leopard seals have both developed special teeth that act like a strainer to catch krill.



• There is evidence that global warming, which reduces winter sea-ice, is already reducing krill populations. Penguins already have to swim farther to find krill. And all this is occurring before industrial fishing has really begun in earnest.



• Banning expansion of krill fishing until measures are in place is the easiest way to ensure enough krill will be left for penguins.