The Design of Penguins

Penguins have features unlike any other living thing. The design of penguins allows them to dive over 100 feet to secure their food. National Geographic magazine lists these unique features of penguins:

1) Their wing shape is unique, allowing them to create a strong thrust underwater.

2) The wings have inflexible joints optimized for swimming.

3) The strong chest muscles allow them to lift their wings underwater.

4) They have elongated hip bones for swimming.

5) Their necks are S-shaped and can be retracted for swimming.

6) Salt-filtering glands above their eyes allow them to excrete salt they take in from the ocean.

7) Penguin bones are very dense for swimming and to withstand the stress of moving through water.

8) Their feathers are designed to adjust to temperatures and density. In hot weather, the feathers are raised to release heat. In cold weather, they lie flat to provide insulation. Penguins have patches without feathers in hot weather to decrease their weight and provide good buoyancy. They add feathers in cold weather to increase their body weight by 30%, making it easier to dive deep.

Realize that all these features are essential for living in their cold climate. To suggest that the penguins evolved from ordinary birds would require all these changes to happen simultaneously. In evolution, Dollo’s Law of Irreversibility states that once a feature is lost it cannot be retrieved. For a bird to become a penguin, Dollo’s Law would have to be broken multiple times.

The design of penguins demands an intelligent Designer to create these eight features in addition to several others. By studying the design of penguins, we can truly “know there is a God through the things that He has made” (Romans 1:20).    

— John N. Clayton © 2025

Reference: “Secrets of the Penguins” in the May 2025 issue of National Geographic, pages 16 to 57