Why are penguins not indigenous to the northern polar regions?
Penguins evolved in the Southern Hemisphere taking advantage of the very rich fish stocks in the cold currents of the Southern Ocean. They need to have plentiful supplies of fish to survive and the conditions for large schools of fish and crustaceans only occur in cold waters. So although the conditions are suitable both in the Northern and Southern Polar regions, the penguins have never managed to cross into the cold Northern waters. Penguins can be found anywhere in the Southern Hemisphere where there are cold ocean currents. The most northerly penguins are found on the equator in the Galapagos Islands. The Humboldt Current carries cold Antarctic waters right up the coast of South America to the equator and provides sufficiently rich fishing grounds for the penguins. However, to cross the much warmer tropical waters to reach the cold northern waters which only extend down to Northern Europe, Russia and Canada, has proved to be too great a journey for the penguins. The Auks occupy a s
