" Polar Bear Why don't you eat penguins?"
I believe many people can't suddenly realize until they hear this brain teaser: Hey, to put it this way, there are actually no penguins in the Arctic?
That’s right. When it comes to "penguin", the first thing that comes to mind will definitely be the symbol of Antarctic. Have you ever thought about a question: Since the Antarctic and the Arctic are as cold as the Antarctic, why don’t penguins live in the Arctic?
But in fact, there have been "penguins" in the Arctic, and someone once brought 69 penguins to the Arctic. What are they doing now?
"Arctic Great Penguin" was once persecuted by humans and extinct
"Arctic Great Penguin" is also known as "Big Puffin". They have been reproductive and thriving for tens of thousands of years. Its body length is 75 to 80 cm, its abdomen is white, and its head to back is black. Due to the deterioration of the wings, although it cannot fly, it also prompts them to have unique advantages in swimming. How about
? It sounds like this description that the first thing you think of is a penguin, but unfortunately, the "Arctic Penguin" has become extinct in the 19th century.
The extinction of the "Arctic Penguin" was mainly caused by humans, and this can be traced back to the Paleolithic period. At that time, the impact on the "Arctic Penguin" was not too great, until more and more navigators discovered this strange bird, their bad luck began.
At the beginning, it was just because of the harsh environment and scarce resources. This kind of big puffin with low damage and easy to catch began to become a tray of people. However, humans were not satisfied afterwards. When they discovered the huge commercial value of , they couldn't help but display their greedy nature and hunted and killed the "Arctic Penguin" for their own interests.
Arctic has no wood, but the "Arctic Great Penguins" are rich in oil, so people still burn them under the pot and put them on the pot to cook meat. In addition, their fur is thick and light. The most common thing is that they have extremely strong warmth, but if all these "advantages" appear on the "big puffin" who do not have the ability to protect themselves, it will be a fatal danger.
people pulled their hair off to make it into clothes and pillows. This was very popular at that time, and the "Arctic Penguin" without hair to keep the cold can only wait slowly for death to come in the cold wind.
But even so, people still have to squeeze out their commercial value. The “Arctic Great Penguins”, like the penguins we know, are extremely difficult to reproduce and have a long cycle, but people make their eggs into collectibles.
Until July 3, 1844, the last pair of "Arctic Penguins" were murdered.
"I pushed it to the corner and grabbed it with my arms open."
"It's stupid, I pushed it to the cliff, it stood blankly, I twisted its neck, it didn't cry."
At this point, the "Arctic Penguin" has completely become extinct, leaving us with only a pile of remains.
"Arctic Penguin" is not a "penguin".
Although "Arctic Penguin" is very similar to penguins in all aspects, penguins belong to the Penguin family , while "Arctic Penguin" belongs to the " Pelroform " and "Arctic Penguin family". The two belong to two completely different species, without any kinship .
On the contrary, the "Arctic Penguin" has a more similar blood relationship to seagulls , and it can be understood that they are flying seagulls. It can also be said that the "penguin" we are familiar with today is a "pirated" penguin. So in other words, the penguin has never appeared in the Arctic today.
Since the Arctic is also cold, why don’t the penguins go to the Arctic? Maybe it is not that it is unwilling to go to the Arctic, maybe it is that it cannot go to the Arctic and .
Why don’t penguins migrate to the Arctic?
Look at the map. It took about 20,000 kilometers to migrate from the Antarctic to the Arctic. During this period, they were still separated by temperate, subtropical and tropical regions. There were many crises. It is very likely that the experience in the middle was unbearable for penguins.
Change the angle. For us, if we live in a quiet and safe environment and are indifferent to the world, everything is perfect, is it still necessary to put ourselves in danger for the living conditions that are almost the same as we are now? Probably not.
It may also be that penguins have tried to migrate, but encountered various difficulties and obstacles along the way, which led to a certain concept they passed down from generation to generation becoming the status quo. We do not know the details of it.
Antarctic is the coldest area on the earth, so the species that can be survived are extremely limited, so they are relatively quiet and peaceful. It is our recognized "no man's land". This is an independent continent without human indigenous people.
Although the Arctic is also cold, it can be considered warm compared to Antarctica. Correspondingly, the resources here will be richer and the environment will be more complex. Most areas of the Arctic are inhabited by humans and have national sovereignty.
In such an environment, more and more ferocious beasts will be born, with uncertain futures and full of unknown risks. Just imagine, can a simple and innocent penguin resist it?
Antarctic ocean surrounds the continent, which is a paradise for penguins to survive. Penguins need to reproduction to land, and the incubation cycle is about forty to fifty days. During this period, the penguin father needs to stand motionless against the cold wind and fertilize with his own body temperature. They are waiting for the penguin mother, but the penguin mother may go forever and may never come back. They are like humans, experiencing separation and death.
Antarctic has no natural enemies of penguins. Their reproduction is very slow and they recover very slowly. Generally, penguins can only lay eggs once a year and only have one baby at a time. In this case, a safe environment is particularly important. Penguins gather together to keep warm and take turns to change positions, which is a manifestation of their kindness and unity.
Arctic continent surrounds the ocean, and there are predators such as polar bears, Arctic fox , etc. Penguins are chubby in our impression, slow and gentle in their hearts. If they reach the Arctic, facing many ferocious animals, they may only be their food. In addition, there are various threats from the ocean, which may be even more difficult.
The slow behavior and cute nature of penguins also explain from another perspective why they cannot survive in the Arctic. Even creating an environment without enemies for them will eventually lead to extinction due to various factors. So, today's penguins survive freely, so let them continue to live in such a quiet life.
Penguins mainly feed on brachiopods, squid and krill small fish. If penguins are sent to the Arctic, they will find it difficult to find familiar food, breaking their own habits and leading to survival difficulties. Just like our differences between the north and the south, it is easy to be unacceptable to the local environment.
Can penguins survive in the Arctic?
Once on more than 80 years ago, Lars Christensen answered this question for us.
He brought 69 penguins from Antarctica to the Arctic. At first, this novel experiment attracted widespread attention and also made Lars Christensen make a lot of money. However, as time went by, people gradually stopped paying attention to this matter. Lars Christensen also failed to make ends meet and just returned 69 penguins back to nature, but the result was ultimately disappointing - none survived.
Perhaps it is because there are too many "natural enemies" in the Arctic, which harms their normal lives, or perhaps it is because the Arctic lacks the necessary elements for penguins to survive. But in any case, it has been proven that penguins cannot survive in the Arctic.
But I think it is also true, " exists, is reasonable ". Breaking the ecological balance at will may cause very serious consequences, which may affect the derivation of a series of species, and it may also be that the world will not be what we see now.
If penguins lived in the Arctic for a long time or originally existed in the Antarctic, then they might follow the natural principle of natural selection and survive the fittest, perhaps not the image of penguin we are familiar with now.
A stable environment creates their innocence, and a competitive environment may also allow them to retain or evolve some self-protection capabilities. Perhaps they may have the ability to fly, but we have no way of knowing it.
Although the former big puffin was deeply persecuted by polar bears, the main reason for their extinction is humans.
In fact, humans have influenced too many species. Now that global warming , glaciers melt, the survival of various organisms on the earth is closely related to the footprints of our human life. As we who have more conscience and wisdom than animals, we should protect animals and love nature. This is our common home.
