# Would penguins thrive in the Arctic?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-penguins-thrive-in-the-arctic/27257
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [July 28, 2000, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-penguins-thrive-in-the-arctic/27257 "2000-07-28T19:51:00Z")
**Posts on this page:** 17
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@tdonald](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdonald)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2000, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-penguins-thrive-in-the-arctic/27257/1 "2000-07-28T19:51:00Z")
Penguins and sea-leopards (whatever they are) live only at the South Pole. Polar bears live only at the North Pole. (and by that I mean the general Arctic/Antarctic areas). Could penguins thrive in the Arctic? Has anyone ever tried to bring them there (where they would compete with puffins,
etc.)? Other than a 12,000 mile voyage, what’s stopping them from inhabiting both polar areas? Would this be a bad idea, introducing new lifeforms into a new environment (like zebra mussels, kudzu and starlings)?
Thanks!
TD
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is
indistinguishable from magic.” Arthur C. Clarke
---
### Author:  [@jb\_farley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jb_farley)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2000, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-penguins-thrive-in-the-arctic/27257/2 "2000-07-28T20:00:00Z")
actually, there are a whole bunch of penguin species (17, i think, but that number is pulled SFMA). and only a minority thrive in cold conditions.
---
### Author:  [@jayron\_32](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayron_32)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2000, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-penguins-thrive-in-the-arctic/27257/3 "2000-07-28T20:01:27Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Would this be a bad idea,
> introducing new lifeforms into a new environment (like zebra mussels, kudzu and starlings)?
Bingo. There no way to predict how introducing an entirely new species into an environment will affect that environment. My guess is that there are currently species that fill the same “niche” in Arctic regions that penguins do in Antarctic regions. The introduction of the penguin will introduce additonal competition for availible food sources, which could result in massive changes to habitat for numerous species.
Oh, and lots of penguins don’t live anywhere NEAR the antarctic. The Galapagos Islands have Penguins, and they live all up and down the pacific coast of South America, in all types of climates. Saying “penguins live in Antarctica” is the exact equivalent to saying “bears live in the Arctic” Well, _Polar_ bears live in the arctic, but there are lots of bear species that don’t live anywhere near the arctic. Ditto for penguins. Some live in antarctica, many, however, live else where.
---
### Author:  [@Phobos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phobos)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2000, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-penguins-thrive-in-the-arctic/27257/4 "2000-07-28T20:15:59Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by tdonald \*
> \*\*Would this be a bad idea, introducing new lifeforms into a new environment (like zebra mussels, kudzu and starlings)?
> \*\*
can you think of any examples where transplanting a species has been a good idea? I can’t think of any right now, but if there is a good example, then there are certainly dozens/hundreds of examples of where it was a bad idea. Of course, sometimes it is done by mistake or unknowingly.
---
### Author:  [@howardsims](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/howardsims)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2000, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-penguins-thrive-in-the-arctic/27257/5 "2000-07-28T21:11:12Z")
Penguins eat fish…
seals eat fish…
I bet the seals would mind the competition for fish in the artic.
---
### Author:  [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2000, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-penguins-thrive-in-the-arctic/27257/6 "2000-07-28T21:25:31Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by howardsims \*
> \*\*Penguins eat fish…
> seals eat fish…
> I bet the seals would mind the competition for fish in the artic. \*\*
Um, A), there are seals in the Antarctic too. And B), pretty much EVERYTHING in those two respective ecosystems eats fish. There’s more to competition than diet.
I’d like to point out, though, that there are no flightless birds in the land of the Polar Bear, just as there are no Polar Bears in the land of flightless birds. Coincidence? I think not.
---
### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2000, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-penguins-thrive-in-the-arctic/27257/7 "2000-07-28T22:50:33Z")
Puffins and penguins have roughly the same ecological niche. Penguins in the Arctic would compete with the puffins.
---
### Author:  [@Or\_n\_ry\_Oscar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Or_n_ry_Oscar)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2000, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-penguins-thrive-in-the-arctic/27257/8 "2000-07-28T23:19:11Z")
I recall that when cavedivers discovered a cave in France with paintings in it about 7 years ago they found images that looked distinctly penguin-like. The initial reaction was that penguins may have ranged as far as the Mediterranean towards the end of the last ice age. (I believe the penguin species that ranges most northerly is that found in the Galapagos on the equator, which I think may be called Magellanic penguins?) Further research revealed that the images were instead those of the Great Auk, a bird whose bones have been found in shell middens throughout Europe and North America. The bird has relatives that still exist and that are related to Puffins. It, however, is thought to have gone extinct several thousand years ago, perhaps as a result of human predation. The lesson I get is that there are 2 reasons penguins don’t live in the Arctic: 1) there are already species that fill the niche that they fill in the Antarctic (but not quite so funny looking and photographic) and 2) penguins live where people, until relatively recently, haven’t been.
---
### Author:  [@Danielinthewolvesden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danielinthewolvesden)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2000, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-penguins-thrive-in-the-arctic/27257/9 "2000-07-29T00:54:08Z")
Actually there were “penguins” in the artic. The greak auk fit that niche quite nicely. However, like nearly every other flightless bird, it was driven into extiction by man & rats. So, likely, a species of Penguin would just refill the niche left by the great Auk.
---
### Author:  [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2000, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-penguins-thrive-in-the-arctic/27257/10 "2000-07-29T01:02:04Z")
Oscar, the Great Auk did not go extinct “thousands of years ago”. The last known pair and their eggs were destroyed on Eldey or Fire Island, part of a group of volcanic Bird Islands off the coast of Cape Reykjanes, Iceland, on June 3, 1844.
I hate missing a creature by only a century. Don’t get me started on Carolina Parakeets…
---
### Author:  [@labdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/labdude)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2000, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-penguins-thrive-in-the-arctic/27257/11 "2000-07-29T06:29:25Z")
What the hell is a sea leopard. I remember reading in “Shackltons Incredible Voyage” that they were attacked many times by them. Is it a walrus?
---
### Author:  [@Danielinthewolvesden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danielinthewolvesden)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2000, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-penguins-thrive-in-the-arctic/27257/12 "2000-07-29T06:52:54Z")
A Type of seal, ie a leopard seal.
---
### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2000, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-penguins-thrive-in-the-arctic/27257/13 "2000-07-29T17:06:33Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by labdude \*
> \*\*What the hell is a sea leopard. I remember reading in “Shackltons Incredible Voyage” that they were attacked many times by them. Is it a walrus? \*\*
Seals attacking humans?! Interesting. Out annoyance or to eat them I wonder?
---
### Author:  [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2000, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-penguins-thrive-in-the-arctic/27257/14 "2000-07-29T18:28:02Z")
Oh sure, start this same exact thread in a different forum
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=32487](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=32487)
just to create a diversion to distract me from the main discussion.
I guess I’ll go eat worms now.
---
### Author:  [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2000, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-penguins-thrive-in-the-arctic/27257/15 "2000-07-29T19:29:43Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by astro \*
>
> Seals attacking humans?! Interesting. Out annoyance or to eat them I wonder?
Disturbing seals, sea lions, etc. can elicit an aggressive response, especially if you block the path between one of them and their young, or block the path to water. This is basically a response to a perceived threat, not to potential prey. Maintaining a healthy distance is highly recommended (like at least 50ft), and specific distances may be mandated by law, depending on where you are.
---
### Author:  [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2000, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-penguins-thrive-in-the-arctic/27257/16 "2000-07-30T04:08:17Z")
I don’t see the problem. Seal eat fish, penguins eat fish, Seals eat penguins. Just another food source.
I don’t think Penguins would survive as there are virtually no land preditors in the Antarctic. Penguins are pretty safe on land.
That isn’t the case up north.
It is generally thought that since penguins detest warm water they only go as far north as the water is cold (note the Peru Currentl keeps the Galapolos Island area cold). When they hit the warm water they turn around.
---
### Author:  [@Wood\_Thrush](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wood_Thrush)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2000, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-penguins-thrive-in-the-arctic/27257/17 "2000-07-30T05:18:31Z")
Alcids are ecologically similar to penguins; they are even referred to as “penguins of the North” in the National Geographic Society’s_Field Guide to the Birds of North Amerca_. Indeed, one of the genera of Alcidae is _Pinguinus_. Most Alcids can fly, so many people aren’t told of them. Only the ponderous puffins and an extinct auk get recongnition, as this thread amply demonstrates.
**DrFidelius** , some sources state it was Funk Island on which the last great auks were killed.
As for whether introducing penguins to the Arctic is “good” or “bad”, I have no comment.