Penguin Species in Happy Feet
Among the Main Characters in the Movie “Happy Feet,” There are Three Species of Penguins
Members of three penguin species - Emperor Penguins, Adelie Penguins, and a Rockhopper Penguin - all star in the popular movie "Happy Feet."
If you’ve seen Happy Feet, you may have wondered what kind of penguins you were looking at. The movie sometimes puts different penguin species together in the same place, something you wouldn’t normally see in real colonies of these particular penguins. The main characters come from three penguin species.
Emperor Penguins
Mumble, the main character, is a young Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri). Emperor Penguins are the largest penguins, standing almost four feet tall. They breed on sea ice in the Antarctic at the start of the winter season. No other bird breeds in such cold conditions. Females lay one egg which is incubated by the male for two months while the female returns to the sea to feed. Chicks are ready to be independent by spring when the ice breaks up.
Emperor Penguins eat a lot of fish and krill. The population of this species has declined drastically due a decrease in the food supply. The major reason for this decline in food is thought to be warmer waters in the Southern Ocean – warmer temperatures mean less sea ice and fewer krill.
Adelie Penguins
Ramon and his buddies are Adelie Penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae), about half the size of Emperor Penguins but much more numerous. This species breeds in Antarctica, like the Emperors, but not in the same places - Adelie penguins nest on rocky beaches where there is no sea ice. Though they don’t raise their chicks on the sea ice, they are still very dependant on it: during the months when they are not breeding, they forage at sea in areas of the Southern Ocean where sea ice is found.
Adelie Penguins eat krill, fish, and squid. The species is not considered threatened and populations are doing well, though climate change may eventually threaten them – a decrease in sea ice portends in a decrease in Adelie Penguins.
Rockhopper Penguins
Lovelace, the dramatic and showy guru of the Adelie colony with a six-pack ring around his neck is a Rockhopper Penguin (Eudyptes sp.). A little smaller than the adelies, rockhoppers are divided into three subspecies: southern, northern, and eastern. None of them breed on the Antarctic continent: rockhopper colonies exist in the Falkland Islands, Argentina and Chile, and on islands in the south Atlantic, in the southern Indian Ocean, and near New Zealand. Rockhoppers breed in huge colonies, in rugged gullies near both deep ocean water and a fresh water source.
Rockhopper Penguins eats crustaceans, fish, and squid. Of the three species featured in Happy Feet, Rockhopper penguins are the ones most affected by human activities and declines in some colonies have been linked to overfishing. Fishing is not the only threat however: toxic red tide, egg harvesting, and climate change have also had an impact. The species is now listed as globally threatened.
Sources:
Emperor
Perrins, Christopher ed. Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds. Firefly Books: 2003.
Roach, John. "Penguin Decline in Antarctica Linked with Climate Change ." National Geographic News: May 9, 2001.
Adelie
International Penguin Conservation Work Group "Adelie Penguin "
Rockhoppers
McCarthy, Michael."Unhappy Times for Hit Penguin in Happy Feet." The Independant: Dec 23, 2006.
International Penguin Conservation Work Group "Rockhopper Penguin."
