Penguins are aquatic non-flying birds. These birds are very adapted to living in the water, spending half of their life in water and the other in the sea. They are bicolor, black and white. Larger penguins usually live in colder climates, while the smaller inhabit temperate and tropical ones. They live in Antarctica, Angola, New Zealand, Chile, Australia, South Africa, and Namibia. The oldest fossil remains of penguin species are around 62 million years old.
Penguins are more than well equipped to aquatic life. Their wings which they cannot use for flying have become flippers. They are very skilled in water, and swim similarly to birds flying in the air.
Their black and white color is used for camouflage. The white resembles water surface and the black color camouflages them from above.
Penguins are skilled divers, reaching an average speed of 6 to 12 km/h. the large emperor penguin dives deep more than 0.5 km below the water surface.
Their bodily shape isn’t very adequate for walking, but they don’t let that prevent them from reaching where they want. They jump with both feet together when they want a faster movement or when moving across rocky or even steep terrain.
They have a thick layer of feathers which keeps their warmth in the water. Penguins are able to control the amount of blood flowing to their extremities, and they reduce the amount when it gets cold, but keeping them from freezing.
They also have the ability to use the warm blood to heat the cold blood so they wouldn’t freeze. Penguins which live in extreme cold climate conditions often pile together to keep warm, and make sure that every penguin gets its share of warmth.
Penguins are also adapted to drink salt water because they have gland filters which remove the excess salt from their blood. The salt is then excreted as a concentrated fluid from their nose.
These land birds breed mostly in large colonies, which vary in size from 100 pairs to several hundred thousand pairs. Because they live in colonies, they have an evolved social interaction among themselves, which led to the evolvement of special vocalizations they use to communicate.
Penguins are monogamous during breeding season, and both male and the female share the duties regarding the incubation of the egg/eggs. One of them feeds in the sea while the other lies on the eggs. That can sometimes last for days, even weeks.
When a penguin mother losses her young, sometimes it tries to steal the young of another penguin mother. These attempts usually remain unsuccessful because the mother fiercely defends her chicks, while the other mothers in her vicinity assist her in the battle to keep her child.
Penguins don’t have many predators on land. They are in danger mainly at sea, where they are preyed upon by whales like the orca, sharks and the leopard seals.
What does the Penguin Symbolize?
Although to some people a penguin is a funny looking, clumsy bird, which not only that can’t fly, but it can’t even walk properly.
It staggers around and hops when wants to move faster, it is a powerful spirit animal, with a lot of gifts and knowledge it can teach us.
This spirit animal symbolizes community, cooperation, fellowship, harmony, dreams, intuition, evolution, protection, evolution, adaptability, sociability, communication, faithfulness, order, organization, cooperation, parenting, monogamy, good manners, proper conduct, patience, endurance, self – discipline, determination, following the rules, renewal, moving forward, cleansing, poor eyesight.
The Meanings of Penguin as a Spirit Animal
The Penguin as a spirit animal can have many different meanings. Here are some of them:
Community and cooperation. Penguins mainly live in large colonies, and to survive they need to cooperate and help each other. This totem animal teaches you and better, reminds you of the importance of camaraderie and being a part of a larger group you can rely upon and turn to in times of need.
It teaches you of the beauty of team work, where you work alongside with someone to reach a common goal.
Order, rules and organization. Penguins are a well-organized society. They mainly live in very large colonies, so they need to be very organized and respect the rules and the order in the community, to maintain the whole system functioning. The penguin totem animal teaches you of the need to respect order and organization because in a society as large as the human society, rules and order need to be established and existing; otherwise, chaos and anarchy would prevail and no-one would be able to feel secure.
The human society has gone through periods of anarchy many times throughout history and has always returned to the principles of order and organization because it is the only way for us to survive and progress as a whole.
Evolution and adaptability. This totem animal is all about evolution and adaptability. Being actually a bird, which has adapted to marine life, a penguin is a true example of the evolution of the living species. As a totem animal, the penguin teaches you of the need to adapt to the circumstances you are encountering because you need to survive and move on towards your goals.
It is also a reminder that we need to evolve and transform into better versions of ourselves using our experience and past mistakes.
Communication and sociability. Penguins are very sociable and communicative animals. They live in large groups and they needed to develop different vocalizations to communicate with each other in various situations. They also have a special call for their chicks, as well as for their partner. They are social beings and enjoy being surrounded by their fellow penguins.
As totem animals, penguins teach us of the importance of interacting and socializing with others.
Monogamy. Not all penguins keep one mate for life, but many penguins do that. This totem animal teaches us of the beauty of being with a person for a long period of time, and getting to know that person through the good and the bad you experience together.
Parenting. Penguins are good parents. They do their best to protect their chicks. They also share the role of lying on the eggs. This totem animal teaches us of the importance of both parents being there for their children.
Penguin as Your Totem Animal
If the penguin is your totem animal, you are most likely a well-organized, polite and a law obeying person. You most likely know what is the purpose of your life and you are focused on achieving these goals.
You are not intimidated by challenges. Nothing can break you. You keep walking towards your goals. You know your value and your abilities and you are confident enough to know that you will accomplish your plans.
With the penguin as your totem animal, you are a very responsible person, and you perform your duties in time.
This totem animal teaches you the lesson of never giving up and following your dreams regardless of what others think of that. It is only important to maintain your balance and sense of direction.
You most likely pay attention to your appearances and try to always be in your best edition in all circumstances. That way you feel satisfied and more confident.
With the penguin as your totem animal, you most likely possess grace and style, which makes other want to imitate you. You are also very kind and generous person, always ready to help others, up to the point that you sometimes sacrifice your needs.
As a penguin spirit animal person, you are also very intelligent, curious and in quest for knowledge. You are great at finding solutions to problems. You have an analyzing mind and you think well before making judgments or decisions about someone or something.
Your nature is caring and giving. You are a true humanitarian. You are both good at team work, and as individual. You enjoy the company of others, especially your friends and family, but the members of your close community as well.
You like having good living conditions and lifestyle. As a penguin spirit animal person you might have poor eyesight, but you make that up with your other excellent abilities and gifts.
Sometimes you feel emotionally insecure and unstable.
You can sometimes become depressed and anxious, which causes negative energy to accumulate inside you. You are also known to make the wrong love choices, although you are very reasonable and thoughtful in other life situations.
It is important to focus on your heart’s desires and not on other people’s expectations.
You lead your life the way you desire and let others lead their lives without allowing them to interfere in yours. If you don’t do that, you will never experience true happiness for being who you are.
What if the Penguin Appears in Your Life?
When the penguin spirit animal appears in your life, it might be calling you to release everything that is no longer serving its purpose in your life. Those might be old beliefs or bad habits, or they can be some past hurts and memories, which only block your movement forward.
Sometimes, this birds appearance in your life, might be asking you to be patient for some things to come to fruition.
You can’t expect everything to be in order when you want. There are other circumstances, which need to fall in place so that order and organization could be established in your life.
The penguin spirit animal in your life is asking you to continue walking towards your goals, and overcoming the obstacles you come across. You need to keep your focus on the outcome. Trust your inner guidance to tell you the right steps on that journey.
This bird could be teaching you of the importance of developing your social behavior and proper attitude and manners.
It could also be teaching you of the importance of order and organization in everything, especially in your life. It also teaches you to respect others and show them your respect.
This totem animal often appears as an announcement of some significant changes happening in your life, which will lead to the transformation of your personality.
These changes might mark the beginning of a spiritual awakening for you and the awakening of your consciousness.
When to call on Penguin?
You should call on Penguin as your spirit animal when:
- You need to fix some relationship issues;
- You need help and support from your community;
- You need to focus on some goals;
- You need encouragement to begin following your dreams;
- You need to improve your social behavior;
Dreams about Penguin – Interpretation and Meaning
When a penguin walks in your dreams it is usually to remind you of the importance of order and organization.
You are probably experiencing some chaos and disturbances in your life and the penguin is asking you to try establishing some order, so you could move forward towards your plans.
The dream encourages you to overcome the obstacles which are blocking the path to your success.