![]() The African penguin is only found on the south-western coast of Africa, living in colonies on 24 islands between Namibia and Algoa Bay, near Port Elizabeth, South Africa. It is a charismatic species and is popular with tourists. Once extremely numerous, the African penguin is declining due to a combination of threats and is classified as endangered. The African penguin is a pursuit diver and feeds primarily on fish and squid. This then causes the gland to turn a darker shade of pink. When the temperature gets hotter, the body of the African penguin sends more blood to these glands to be cooled by the air surrounding it. The pink gland above their eyes helps them to cope with changing temperatures. It has distinctive pink patches of skin above the eyes and a black facial mask the body upperparts are black and sharply delineated from the white underparts, which are spotted and marked with a black band. Adults weigh on average 2.2–3.5 kg and are 60–70 cm tall. Like all extant penguins it is flightless, with a streamlined body, and wings stiffened and flattened into flippers for a marine habitat. It is also widely known as the "jackass" penguin for its donkey-like bray, although several related species of South American penguins produce the same sound. The African penguin (Spheniscus demersus), also known as the jackass penguin and black-footed penguin, is a species of penguin, confined to southern African waters. ![]()
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