April 25 has been set aside as World Penguin Day, a day to appreciate and consider these remarkable aquatic birds and their place in our world, as climate change and other pressures threaten their habitat and food sources, leading to significant declines in some populations. Gathered below, images of these unique creatures from across the colder parts of the Southern Hemisphere.
World Penguin Day 2023
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![A penguin leaps from water onto a rocky shoreline.]()
Read moreA gentoo penguin leaps from the water onto a rocky shoreline near Port Lockroy on Antarctica's Wiencke Island. #
Paul Souders / Getty -
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![One adult penguin stands in a large crowd of fuzzy penguin chicks.]()
Read moreOne adult king penguin stands in a large crowd of chicks in a breeding-colony group on South Georgia Island. #
Art Wolfe / Mint Images RF / Getty -
![A large colony of thousands of penguins on a rocky shoreline]()
Read moreKing penguins gather along St. Andrews Bay in South Georgia. #
Ignacio Palacios / Getty -
![Several penguins leap through the air while swimming through the surf.]()
Read moreChinstrap penguins porpoise while swimming through surf toward Bailey Head on Deception Island, in Antarctica's South Shetland Islands. #
Paul Souders / Getty -
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![A close view of a penguin with long feathers on its brow and head]()
Read moreA close view of a rock penguin #
Nicola Geneletti / iStockphoto / Getty -
![A group of penguins dart past one another underwater.]()
Read moreA group of crested penguins dart past one another underwater. #
Richard Robinson / Image Source / Getty -
![A colony of tall adult penguins with fuzzy chicks]()
Read moreA colony of emperor penguins with chicks on Antarctica's Snow Hill Island #
Vladsilver / iStockphoto / Getty -
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![An adult penguin stands on snow, holding a small chick on its feet.]()
Read moreAn emperor penguin cares for its chick on Snow Hill Island. #
Sylvain Cordier / Getty -
![Just the top of a penguin's head is visible as it peeks over a mound of snow.]()
Read moreAn Adélie penguin looks out from behind a pile of snow on Yalour Island in Antarctica on February 26, 2019. #
Ozge Elif Kizil / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
![A penguin pokes its head under the water's surface, near a rocky shoreline.]()
Read moreA gentoo penguin pokes its head under the water's surface near Horseshoe Island on February 27, 2022. #
Sebnem Coskun / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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![An elephant seal bellows, surrounded by dozens of penguins]()
Read moreAn elephant seal is surrounded by king penguins on Possession Island, part of the Crozet Islands, which are a sub-Antarctic archipelago of small islands in the southern Indian Ocean, on December 20, 2022. #
Patrick Hertzog / AFP / Getty -
![A penguin swims in water with buildings of Rio de Janeiro visible in the background.]()
Read moreA penguin swims along Arpoador beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 5, 2012, during the annual migration from Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands. #
Ricardo Moraes / Reuters -
![A penguin walks next to huge rusting and abandoned storage tanks.]()
Read moreA penguin walks next to an old whaling factory on Antarctica's Deception Island on February 17, 2018. #
Alexandre Meneghini / Reuters -
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![A large group of penguins gathers on a beach.]()
Read morePenguins gather on a beach at Punta Tombo peninsula in Argentina's Patagonia, on February 17, 2017. #
Maxi Jonas / AP -
![A penguin walks through a storm on snow-covered ground.]()
Read moreA gentoo penguin walks through an Antarctic storm. #
Nicolas Tolstoï / iStockphoto / Getty -
![A cluster of three-toed penguin footprints in snow]()
Read morePenguin footprints, seen on Danco Island, Antarctica, on February 14, 2018 #
Alexandre Meneghini / Reuters -
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![A group of penguins jumps off an iceberg into the water.]()
Read moreA group of Adélie penguins jumps off an iceberg into the water off Paulette Island in Antarctica. #
KeithSzafranski / Getty -
![A leopard seal lunges onto a rock as a small penguin flees.]()
Read moreA leopard seal lunges onto rocks while hunting for gentoo penguins on Antarctica's Cuverville Island. #
Paul Souders / Getty -
![Three penguins stand side by side, seen in profile.]()
Read moreA portrait of three king penguins #
Cedric Favero / Getty -
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![An elevated view of an enormous colony of penguins clustered tightly together]()
Read moreA massive colony of king penguins, seen on South Georgia Island #
PrinceImages / Getty -
![A penguin nips at a camera set up on a short tripod.]()
Read moreA gentoo penguin nips at a camera along Orne Harbour, on the Antarctic Peninsula, on March 5, 2016. #
Eitan Abramovich / AFP / Getty
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