Why don't penguins' feet freeze?
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Why don't penguins' feet freeze?

Penguins have specially adapted blood vessels in their feet to help them cope with standing on cold ice.

The blood vessels supply just enough heat to prevent the penguins freezing to the ice, while at the same time keeping the heat loss to a minimum.

The blood vessels carrying warm blood to the feet are intertwined with those carrying the cold blood back from the feet - in this way the returning blood is warmed and that going to the feet is cooled - thus reducing the overall heat loss.

If you need a more detailed explanation then you will find one on Kevin Welch’s excellent site at www.capu.net/~kwelch/penguins.