Penguins are pretty awesome, so it shouldn’t be a big surprise that
they are capable of drinking and ingesting salt water right? Well,
that’s 2/3 right; yes penguins are awesome, yes they are capable of
drinking salt water, but no, they can’t ingest salt water.
They are able to drink salt water because their supraorbital gland
filters excess salt from the blood stream, which is then secreted in a
concentrated fluid from the nasal passages.
This mechanism was designed to allow penguins to live in the coldest
places, like the North and South Pole; both of which are completely
surrounded by salt water and usually freeze any fresh water they come
into contact with.
As those places melt, so do the penguin’s homes, and soon enough they
themselves disappear. Efforts are being made by environmentalists and
individuals to ensure that this animal keeps getting to be awesome and
to filter excess salt from their blood streams.
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