n is called porposing due to the same behavior that resemble a porpoise. This action serves 2 purposes for a penguin; one being that a penguin needs to come up for air, and the other is to decrease their chances from being eaten by a predator. When penguins are out at sea feeding, their diet is made up of krill, squid and fish. Smaller species of penguins feed on krill and squid whereas larger species tend to feed on squid and fish. Penguins rely on their eyesight when they are out hunting for food. It is not known how penguins locate their prey in the darkness, at night, or at great depths, but some scientists hypothesize that penguins are helped by the fact that many ocean squid, crustaceans, and fishes are bioluminescent (they produce light). (del Hoyo, et al., 1992) When penguins are hunting for food, they catch their prey as they are swimming and swallow their food whole. Feeding areas vary for each species of penguins. When hunting for food they may be successful within a 9-mile radius, or they have been known to travel as far as five hundred and fifty nine miles to find food. As penguins are swimming in the ocean waters, they have several predators including but not limited to; leopard seals, fur seals, sea lions, sharks or killer whales. On land, penguins have to worry about other predators such as foxes, snakes, and others that are not native to the lands but that have been transplanted by human migration. Examples of some of these non-native predators are; feral dogs, cats and stoats, which is a member of the weasel family. Since penguins are the most aquatic of birds, El Nino has taken its toll on the existence of these fascinating creatures. This natural phenomenon, which changes wind and ocean current patterns, warms the surface temperatures and reduces the upwelling of nutrient-rich water. Marine animal food supply is directly affected and compromised by the above mentioned factors because of the decrease of nutrien...
