Penguins live in very cold climates and walk on ice. Hence, their body have developed certain adaptations to avoid losing body heat and to protect their feet from freezing. One of the adaptations is countercurrent heat exchange. At the top of a penguin's feet, the arteries and veins wrap around each other. Now, when the warm blood flows through the arteries to the feet, much of the heat from warm blood gets transferred to the cold blood in veins which is carrying blood away from the feet. In this way, penguins do not lose their heat from the feet to the ground. Also, the blood which reaches the feet is warm enough to keep the feet above freezing point, helping the penguin to not get frostbite.
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