• Question: Why do Antartic penguins' feet not freeze in the winter when they are in contact with snow or ice.?

    Asked by forrestgump to Alex, Jools, Lynz, Matt, Rika on 15 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Julie Greensmith

      Julie Greensmith answered on 15 Jun 2011:

      Two main reasons for this (according to my mate in Zoology) which both involve reducing heat loss from the feet.

      1). The skin on the feet is very very thick and does not let out lots of heat. Its like they are wearing wellies.
      2). The blood veins and arteries in the feet get smaller so less heat can be lost as the feet are less warm to start with. The cooler something is, the less heat it loses.

      One thing I do know is that penguins can also live in tropical areas too which are very warm. They can adapt to different environments easily through controlling their blood flow to different areas of their bodies.

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