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And now, for a bonus puffin meme!
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Puffins and penguins aren’t actually family-family - they’re more like those “we look alike so we’re cousins now” friends at a reunion. Scientifically speaking, puffins are auks from the Northern Hemisphere, while penguins live way down south and belong to a totally different bird family. Their last common ancestor was so far back in time it probably still thought dinosaurs were its cool friends. But thanks to convergent evolution - nature’s habit of copying homework - both birds ended up with sleek, swim-ready bodies, snazzy tuxedo apparel, and the general appearance of tiny, earnest butlers of the sea.
Of course, there are key differences. Puffins can actually fly, zooming through the air like chunky feathery torpedoes, while penguins are fully committed to the “no wings, only flippers” lifestyle and perform their dramatic zooming underwater instead. Puffins’ rainbow beaks look like someone hit “add saturation” in Photoshop, while penguins rock a more minimalist black-and-white aesthetic. Still, both waddle, both bop around on rocks looking like they’re late for an important fish meeting, and both radiate wholesome chaos.
So no, they’re not technically cousins - but if birds had group chats, you just know puffins and penguins would be in the same one, swapping fish pics and complaining about the weather.
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