The Galapagos Penguin

The Galapagos penguin seems rather absurd.
Who’d’ve thought that Antarctica’s signature bird
Would become equatorial? How’d it arrive?
I’m not sure, but it had to adapt to survive.

For starters, it’s small, so it won’t have to eat
A whole lot and efficiently radiates heat.
It’s on land through the night, but the daytime is hotter,
So that’s when it swims in the much cooler water.

Ashore in the sun, it assumes a good pose
With its wings at the side, hunching over its toes,
So it takes full advantage of shade and the breeze.
If it still feels too hot, it can pant (but not wheeze).

Unlike most other penguins, it nests all alone,
Hunts in pairs at the most, and has never been known
To have seasonal cycles in which it can breed;
It is opportunistic according to need.

I’m afraid that this species is rarest of all
Of the penguins; it once had a three-quarters fall
In its numbers. At least it’s recovered a tad.
When I saw one in person, I really felt glad.