Penguins popping out of the water onto the ice. (Jack DiTullio)

Questions from JCC Heights Preschool, Cleveland Heights

Senna: Why don’t penguins fly? What is the biggest a penguin can get?

Dear Senna,

Penguins have adapted to use their wings as flippers for swimming rather than for flying. They are excellent swimmers, and they spend most of their lives at sea or on the ice.The penguins we’ve seen, and have been sending pictures of, are Adelie penguins. They’re 1.5 to 2 feet tall and weigh about 8-10lbs. There are also Emperor penguins in Antarctica that are much bigger, about 4 feet tall.

Thanks for the question,
Mak

Philip: Are there any polar bears there, and if there are, why don’t they get cold? It looked like people had to wear special suits almost like astronauts, so how do bears manage?

Dear Philip,

There are no polar bears down here in Antarctica. The polar bears never made it down this far south. Looking at a map you will see that Antarctica is very far away from any other land mass so it would be a large distance for the bears to travel. It gets very cold down here and yesterday while we were sampling the seawater froze in our sampling lines. Therefore we do have to wear special suits to keep us very warm and cozy while outside. It is a lot of fun to be outside with these suits on as you stay warm and dry. Polar bears also have special ways to keep warm. They have two different types of fur. The fur close to their skin is called a downy fur and it acts like the comforter on your bed which keeps you warm at night. They also have an outer layer of fur which is coarse and hollow and keeps the downy fur dry and protects them from the strong winds. When the bear come out of the water after swimming the downy fur close to their body is dry and it is only the coarse hair which is wet so they are warm all the time. These bears are also very large and have a lot of body fat which helps them to stay warm.

I hope you are having fun,
Maeve

Emet: If polar bears eat penguins, is this why they live apart? Why don’t the penguins go even further away to be safe?

Dear Emet,

As Maeve wrote, there aren’t polar bears here so the penguins don’t have to worry about them. The penguins’ main predators here are leopard seals instead. The penguins here seem remarkably curious, and they come right up to us sometimes. We’ve seen hundreds of Adelie penguins so far. It is estimated that there are about 2.5 million breeding pairs in Antarctica, so I think they’re doing a good job of staying away from the seals.

Thanks for the question,
Mak

Phoebe: Can penguins jump up?

Dear Phoebe,

They can jump out of the water onto the ice, but this is more from swimming fast out of the water than jumping. We have seen the Adelie penguins jump between ice floes, but its not nearly as graceful as when they spring out of the water. I’ve attached a picture of them jumping out of the water.

Thanks for the question,
Mak

Rachel: If penguins can slide on their stomachs, can they roll over on their backs and slide, too?

Dear Rachel,

We watched a lot of the Adelie penguins sliding across the ice on their bellies, using both their flippers and feet to push themselves along. They wouldn’t be able to push themselves along if they were on their backs I think.

Happy new year,
Mak

Gabriel: Can jellyfish live where you are or is the water too cold? Are there any sharks there?

Dear Gabriel-

Thanks for your question - it's a good one! There are lots of jellyfish here in the ocean surrounding Antarctica. They don't seem to mind the cold water and there is lots of food for them to eat. I've seen some really big jellyfish here - up to 3 feet across! These big jellyfish mostly eat small fish that they catch with their tentacles.

In fact, most kinds of organisms that you find in coastal oceans around the world are also found here. There are birds and seals, and fish, clams, snails, sea anemones, and algae. But the species are different. The animals and plants here have to cope with very cold water, sometimes below freezing even. They also live in a place with giant blocks of floating ice that bang around and hit each other during storms. You can imagine that the jellyfish don't like this - they probably go down in the deeper water during storms.

Well, thanks again for your question!
Rob

We all wondered what it is like to live on a ship? Do you have a kitchen to make food and a bed like we have? How many people can live there with you?

Living on a ship is like sharing a big house with many other people, some you knew before you got there and some you just met. On our ship, there are 35 scientists, 10 people to help with our scientific equipment, and about 15 people on the ship's crew that keep the ship running smoothly. We have two wonderful cooks who cook meals for us in a big kitchen onboard, called the galley. We all eat together at big tables, a little like the lunchroom you might have at school. It's nice to have people cook for us since we are so busy doing our science work, but some of us really miss cooking in our own kitchens when we are on the ship. We all have beds for sleeping, in rooms we share with one or three other people. Everybody has a bunkbed, and all the rooms have a bathroom attached. Even though we are working very hard, we still need to make time to relax. For that, there is a room with a television and lots of movies, where people can go to sit and talk, play card games, or watch movies. When it isn’t too cold outside, many of us also like to go out on deck and look at the beautiful scenery, watch for whales and penguins, and get fresh air to relax. There is also a gym onboard, which is very nice since it is hard to get exercise on the ship. Many of us use the gym regularly, though it is hard to run on a treadmill sometimes when the ship is moving a lot! All in all, it is fun living on this ship, though most of us will be ready to go home and be on land again by the end of our journey.

Take care,
Erin