Actually, penguins do it more efficiently. When penguins walk, the top of their body acts as a pendulum ( pengui -lum?) so they are only using energy to rotate a bit with each step. On the other hand, we need to partially lift our whole body up each time we take a step.
This begs the query “Do penguins walk faster than humans?”
No, they definitely do not do this, although it may look that way to the casual observer. Secondly, can penguins walk as fast as humans? Most of the time they walk with a speed of about 1 or 2 km per hour, but in danger a frightened penguin can run a lot faster than a human being over snowy rocks and ice.
Why can’t Penguins walk?
Penguins cannot balance their body mass even while walking forward; they face a lot of difficulty in walking on land. Walking backward is a much more difficult task for penguins to do.
The swaying of penguins allows them to recover as much as 80% of all the energy that they expend – making them about 20% more efficient than us. This is why penguins still have the energy to migrate and hunt even after long periods of fasting, as their waddle is the most efficient way to walk.
How fast can a Penguin run?
Most of the time they walk with a speed of about 1 or 2 km per hour, but in danger a frightened penguin can run a lot faster than a human being over snowy rocks and ice. How do penguins move so fast in water? Penguins look clumsy on land, but they are fast, graceful swimmers underwater.
This cuts the drag on their bodies, allowing them to double or triple their swimming speed quickly and launch into the air. Most penguins swim underwater at around four to seven miles per hour (mph), but the fastest penguin—the gentoo ( Pygoscelis papua )—can reach top speeds of 22 mph!