African Penguin

African Penguin
Character Data
Also known as: Cape, Cape Penguin, Jackass Penguin, Black-Footed Penguin Japanese Name: ケープペンギン Romanised Name: Kēpu Pengin First Featured in: Kemono Friends Pavilion
Animal Data
Scientific Name: Spheniscus demersus Distribution: Southwestern Africa Diet: Piscivore Average Lifespan in the Wild: 10-27 Years Read More: African penguin Conservation Status:

African Penguin​

Pavilion​

KF3​

KemoV​

Gallery

African Penguin is a type of Penguin Friend introduced in the Second Collaboration with Sunshine Aquarium. She has since appeared in other Kemono Friends media, and debuted as one of the first members of KemoV, the Kemono Friends virtual Youtuber group.

Appearance

African Penguin's back-length hair is primarily black, with white areas on the sides of her head and two locks that frame the sides of her face. There are two pink areas near the front of her scalp which resemble the glands that surround the real-life animal's eyes; a cleaner, streamlined version of this pattern is also present on her headphones. Her eyes are sienna-coloured.

She wears a black-and-white zipper sweater, zipped all the way up to the collar. Its front, and the inside faces of the sleeves, have patterns respectively resembling that of the African penguin's chest and wings. Like all the penguin friends, the sleeves end in mittens. The chest pattern continues down her thigh-high stockings, ending in black shin-height boots with pink laces. Lastly, she has a short, bushy tail similar to the other penguins.

In Real Life

An African penguin. The black and white patterns reflected in the Friend design are clearly visible.

The African Penguin, also known as the jackass penguin and black-footed penguin is only found on the south-western coast of Africa. African penguins grow to between 60 and 70 cm tall and weigh between 2.2 and 3.5 kg. They have a black stripe and black spots on the chest, the pattern of spots being unique for every penguin, like fingerprints. African penguins have distinctive pink patches of skin above the eyes and a black facial mask; the body underparts are black and sharply delineated from the white underparts, which are used for thermoregulation. The hotter the penguin gets, the more blood is sent to these glands so it may be cooled by surrounding air, causing the gland to turn a darker shade of pink. Their distinctive black and white colouring is a vital form of camouflage called "Countershading", white for underwater predators looking upwards and black for predators looking down onto the dark water. African penguins have a very recognisable appearance with a thick band of black that is in the shape of an upside-down horseshoe. They have black feet and unique black spots that vary in size and shape per penguin. African penguins are social penguins that form groups to hunt. The young capture prey very close to the shore, unlike adults that travel greater distance according to the availability of food. They pursue pelagic fish such as sardines, anchovies, and marine invertebrates such as squid and small crustaceans. The average lifespan of an African penguin is 10 to 27 years in the wild, and up to 30 years in captivity.

Trivia

• The African penguin is also widely known as the "Jackass" penguin for its loud, donkey-like bray, although several related species of South America penguins produce the same sound.

References

• African Penguins as introduced by Penguin World https://www.penguins-world.com/african-penguin/