Could my "erect penguins" exist?

In the story I'm writing, a group of African penguins evolved to be fully upright (instead of having their knees bent like modern penguins).

Now some basic characteristics of these "erect penguins" are:

• 7 feet tall erect bipeds
• Pack hunters (still carnivorous)
• Socially monogamous
• Slightly more slender than modern penguins
• No blubber
• Powerful legs
• Powerful beaks (used to peck their prey to death)
• Top running speed of 30 mph
• Flippers that are used for balance when running
• Proportionally longer legs than body
• Slightly thinner and longer neck

Given these characteristics, could such a creature exist, and what evolutionary pressures would lead to them?

posted over 4 years ago

icewar1908‭

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