World Penguin Day 2017: 24 photos to celebrate the flightless sea bird
World Penguin Day aims is to raise awareness of the plight of some penguins and highlighting the importance of protecting the Antarctic's marine environment.
World Penguin Day is celebrated on 25 April every year, coinciding with the time of the birds annual northward migration. Penguins are one of roughly 40 species of flightless birds, who who live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species of penguin, the Galapagos can be found north of the equator. World Penguin Day aims is to raise awareness of the plight of some penguins and highlighting the importance of protecting the Antarctic's marine environment.
Spending most of their life at sea, penguins are able to dive to a depth of 565 metres – deeper than any other bird. There are 18 species of penguins, 13 of which are endangered, with some on the brink of extinction. In this gallery, IBTimesUK presents a selection of penguin photos taken around the world:
A pair of Adelie penguins are pictured at Cape Denison, Commonwealth Bay, East AntarcticaPauline Askin/ReutersA Gentoo penguin is pictured in Petermann Island, AntarcticaEitan Abramovich/AFPAdelie penguins dive into the oceaniStockPenguins can be seen walking across ice at Cape Denison, Commonwealth Bay, East AntarcticaPauline Askin/ ReutersEmperor penguins are seen in Dumont d'Urville, AntarcticaMartin Passingham/ ReutersAdelie penguins stand atop a block of melting ice on a rocky shoreline at Cape Denison, Commonwealth Bay, in East AntarcticaPauline Askin/ReutersAn Adelie penguin stands atop a block of melting ice near the French station at Dumont d'Urville in East AntarcticaPauline Askin/ ReutersAdelie penguins are pictured at Cape Denison, Commonwealth Bay, in East AntarcticaPauline Askin/ReutersAdelie penguins stand atop ice near the French station at Dumont d'Urville in East AntarcticaPauline Askin/ Reuters
King PenguiniStockA Magellanic penguin is seen in Magdalena Island, in the Strait of Magellan near Chile's southern tip, where tens of thousands of penguins come every year to breedMartin Bernetti/AFPA Magellanic penguin is seen in Magdalena Island, ChileMartin Bernetti/AFPMagellanic penguins are seen in Magdalena Island, ChileMartin Bernetti/AFPA Magellanic penguin is seen in Magdalena Island, in the Strait of Magellan near Chile's southern tip, where tens of thousands of penguins come every year to breedMartin Bernetti/AFPA Magellanic penguin in Magdalena Island, ChileMartin Bernetti/AFPMagellanic penguins walk in single file at El Pedral penguin colony, near Punta Ninfas in the Patagonian province of Chubut, ArgentinaJuan Mabromata/AFPView of Gentoo penguins in Cuverville Island, in the western Antarctic peninsulaEitan Abramovich/AFPAn adult (L) and one year old juvenile Yellow eyed penguin, on Enderby Island in the subantarctic Auckland Islands groupRoss Land/Getty ImagesAn African penguin swims in his pool at the Servion Zoo near Lausanne, SwitzerlandDenis Balibouse/Reuters
