Why are there no penguins in the Arctic? What happens when penguins are transported to the North Pole? Why do scientists object?

Although there are no penguins in the Arctic, there is a creature great auk in the Arctic that is very similar to penguins. Arctic penguin? .

Before the 17th century, there were many big Arctic penguins living here. They were very similar to penguins. They couldn't fly. They could swim underwater with their wings and made a living by preying on marine life.

Like penguins, Arctic penguins are very close to each other. When the breeding season comes, they don't make nests, but breed on rocky islands. The arctic penguin lays an egg every year, and the couple take turns incubating the eggs. Soon after the breeding period, the arctic penguin will fly to the North Atlantic for food.

Although the Arctic penguin and penguin are similar in appearance and behavior, they are not the same species, and even far apart. According to scientists' analysis, the closest relative to the Arctic penguin is the knife-billed auk.

Arctic penguins have few natural enemies in the Arctic, mainly large marine mammals and some raptors, but they are slaughtered by human beings because they can't fly, walk slowly and are not afraid of human characteristics.

Because their eggs and meat are rare and excellent protein in the Arctic, their feathers can keep warm, and some museums and private individuals want to collect their specimens, the Arctic giant penguins became extinct in the 19th century because of human slaughter.

On July 3, 1844, when the last pair of Arctic penguins were killed by human beings during the incubation period, the Arctic penguins never appeared in people's sight again. Now, only about 78 fur and 75 eggs of Arctic penguins remain in various museums, which seems to silently accuse human beings of murder.

Based on the experience of the big penguins in the Arctic, it is easy to think that if penguins arrive in the Arctic, I'm afraid their fate will be similar to that of the big penguins in the Arctic!

why are there no penguins in the arctic?

Although the appearance and living habits of Arctic giant penguins are similar to those of penguins, they are not real penguins, but the result of convergent evolution.

Real penguins have never lived in the Arctic. This is because penguins were born in the southern hemisphere.

scientists estimate that the early penguin crested penguin lived in the late Eocene and early Oligocene about 37-34 million years ago. At that time, the temperature of the earth was higher than today, and there were no permanent glaciers at the poles. Moreover, due to the superior living conditions in Antarctica, there are about 1 kinds of prehistoric penguins living here, including the ancient crested penguin, which is a penguin bigger than human beings.

In the 2th century, scientists found a large number of fossils of ancient crested penguins on Seymour Island in Antarctica. Besides, fossils of this creature were also found in Australia, but not in the northern hemisphere, which shows that prehistoric penguins were active in the southern hemisphere at the earliest time.

Later, due to plate drift, the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean gradually widened, and penguins staying in the southern hemisphere, especially in the Antarctic, could not cross the vast sea. In addition, penguins living in the Antarctic have adapted to the cold environment and cannot cross the hot equatorial region, so under natural conditions, penguins in the Antarctic cannot reach the North Pole.

Penguins that can live in hot areas, for example, Magellan penguins live in temperate regions where the climate is not so cold, while Galapagos penguins live closer to the equator. These penguins cannot adapt to the extreme climate in the Arctic and will not reach the North Pole because they have adapted to a warmer environment.

For various reasons, there are no penguins in the Arctic.

what happens when penguins are artificially moved to the north pole?

The difference between the North Pole and the South Pole is that few people live in Antarctica for a long time except the scientific research team and a few tourists. However, there are a large number of people living near the North Pole, such as Eskimos.

Because of the cold climate in the Arctic, people living in the Arctic can't grow crops, so they can only make a living by catching marine life, such as walruses, polar bears and Canadian reindeer.

If penguins are artificially moved from the South Pole to the North Pole, there is no doubt that penguins will be called Eskimo's lunch. After all, penguins can't run fast and move clumsily.

If human factors are not considered, polar bears, narwhals and other large carnivores will become natural enemies of penguins.

From p>1936 to 1938, emperor penguins and some penguins living in the Antarctic were introduced to the Arctic, hoping that they could replace the big penguins in the Arctic and settle here for a long time.

As a result, the ecosystem in the Arctic is more complex than that in the Antarctic, and there are more predators, so penguins living in the Arctic have never settled here, and even penguins introduced to the Arctic have died in the Arctic because of human influence.

It can be seen that although the temperature environment in the Antarctic and the Arctic is similar, penguins can't adapt to the life in the Arctic because of the different ecosystems and the influence of human beings.

Summary

If an organism originally does not belong to this ecological area, it is actually best not to introduce them into this niche, because many organisms cannot adapt to the local ecosystem; There are also some creatures that are likely to evolve into invasive species because the ecosystem has no natural enemies.