December's Animal of the Month!

For the month of December, my mom has requested the erect crested penguin (Eudyptes sclateri) to be the animal of the month. Penguins are her favorite animals. If you would like to suggest an endangered animal to be featured, email me at viridorari@yahoo.com.

Picture courtesy of: http://xamobox.blogspot.com/2013/04/erect-crested-penguin.html

            They stand between 20 and 28 inches tall and weigh between 5.5 and 13 pounds. Like all penguin species the males weigh more than females.

Erect crested penguins live in New Zealand and breed in only two locations: the Bounty and Antipodes islands. Breeding takes place on rocky slopes bordering shorelines. While some penguin pairs make nests, many lay their eggs on the bare rock.

Penguins on an Antipodes isle

Picture courtesy of: http://www.wondermondo.com/Antipodes.htm

Penguins on a Bounty isle

Picture courtesy of: http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/38500/seals-and-penguins-bounty-islands

            The penguins are listed on the IUCN’s red list as endangered and they are protected under the United States’ Endangered Species Act. The current population is estimated to be between 130,000 and 140,000 individuals.

            Some organizations that work to conserve endangered penguin species include the World Wildlife Fund, Defenders of Wildlife, and Bird Life of South Africa. If there’s someone in your family who loves penguins, consider symbolically adopting them a penguin for Christmas through WWF’s or Defender’s adoption programs.

            For this month, I will be supporting Defenders of Wildlife on Goodsearch.com. Over the past two months, I raised $5.04 for manatees with Save the Manatee Club, just by using Goodsearch as my primary search engine.

             Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erect-crested_Penguin

http://www.penguinworld.com/types/erect.html