The Fun Penguins Of Maryland

I have a real soft spot for the Maryland (Baltimore) Zoo as a few years ago I was treated to a behind the scenes, up close and personal chance to hang out in the penguin den for an hour.  That afternoon was without a doubt my personal favorite live penguin experience.  I doubt any of the penguins remember me, but I sure remember them.

Eric in his peronal penguin heaven at the Maryland Zoo

Today, the Penguin Post is happy to report that the 52 African penguins at The Maryland Zoo are doing just fine and are more popular than ever as they chew on shoe laces, hide underneath rocks and skirmish among themselves. They are a curious, stubborn, squawking lot. The keepers at their Rock Island habitat, the zoo’s penguin exhibit since 1967, have their hands full. Always. “This is kind of like having a day care with a bunch of 3-year-old kids sometimes,” said Jen Kottyan, the high-energy manager charged with their care. Yet it’s those same quirks that have allowed the waddling, attention-craving penguins to endear themselves to their human keepers. Their antics during public feedings draw a crowd no matter the time of year, including in the winter months when the Maryland Zoo was previously closed to visitors. The zoo is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Fridays through Mondays in January and February for the second consecutive year. A few of the species, including some African birds and tortoises, are kept indoors during teeth-chattering, cold winter days. But most of the zoo’s more than 2,500 animals deal with frigid weather just fine. The African penguins seem right at home. The species is native to the rocky coastline of South Africa and Namibia and its temperate climate. Only a few penguin species live as far south as Antarctica in the wild. The zoo’s penguins are free to meander about outside as long as their 250,000-gallon moat is not completely frozen over.

Feeding Time

If it gets too chilly even for them, they can retreat to a heated indoor sanctuary. When the domesticated penguins spot caretakers and visitors inside their habitat, many of them wander over. And that’s when the fun starts. Depending on their moods, the penguins will peck at pant legs, surround their human counterparts or jostle with each other. If one of their human handlers omits a yell that sounds like a braying donkey, the penguins will mimic it. The high-pitched squawk is the reason why the African penguins are nicknamed the jackass breed. “We don’t like to call them that,” Kottyan said, “but the kids get a kick out of it.” During a public feeding Friday, the penguins gathered while caretakers flung herring, capelin and squid at the group. The penguins each eat about a pound of fish each day. Their human overseers closely track how much each penguin in the group eats. Two of the zoo’s four penguin chicks were brought outside for the public feeding. Four penguin chicks have been successfully bred there in recent months, Kottyan said, with the most recent one born on Christmas Day. The Maryland Zoo has raised more than 800 chicks and plays a role in the African Penguin Species Survival Plan. The zoo has raised chicks that are now on display throughout the country at other exhibits. The Maryland Zoo has the largest collection of African penguins in the U.S. The African penguins are threatened due to overfishing and frequent oil slicks in their home habitats, which happen to be near busy shipping routes for crude. “If they get coated with oil, they want to clean themselves and wind up ingesting it,” Kottyan said. The plight other species of  penguins have been featured in major motion pictures such as “March of the Penguins”, “Surf’s Up”, “Madagascar” and “Happy Feet” in the last decade, but the not so glamorous African penguin has not seen the Hollywood spotlight yet. Kottyan said zoo visitors took notice. “We hear the comments even still when we are out in the public feeding that our penguins don’t look like the ones from ‘March of the Penguins,’” she said. That’s because they are a completely different breed. “March of the Penguins” followed a colony of Emperor penguins in Antarctica. The 2-feet-tall African penguins are roughly half the size of their Emperor counterparts. Regardless, Kottyan said the movies sparked an interest in their plight and allow the keepers to explain that there are different types of penguin.  Even in Africa, where these penguins are considered endangered by The

Say Cheese ( I mean fishies).

International Union for Conservation of Nature. The penguin exhibit is among the most popular at the zoo, staffers said. A few times each year, the zoo holds Breakfast with the Penguins programs. This year’s programs are scheduled for 8:30 a.m. April 14, July 6-7 and Sept. 8. “They sell out every single time,” Kottyan said. During the events, visitors have the opportunity to eat breakfast, feed the penguins and learn more about their behavior. They discover what their caretakers have known for so long: The tiny penguins can be rambunctious, loving, inquisitive and maddening all at once. “Working with these guys,” keeper Betty Dipple said, “prepares you for motherhood.”

Penguins In Abu Dubai!?

The Penguin Post has learned that the oil rich Emirate of Abu Dubai is importing real penguins to promote the planned and ambitious indoor Ski Dubai / Snowdome project located in the Dubai Mall of the Emirates.  “Here Dubai shoppers will soon be able to get up close and personal with real penguins,” a Ski Dubai spokesman said after it was announced they would play host to a colony of penguins. The developer of the indoor ski slope, located in massive Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates, said it planned to build a special enclosure to host the birds as part of a multi-generation breeding program. The environment will “mirror the Antarctic,” Ski Dubai said in an emailed statement. “Visitors will be able to view the snow penguin’s natural antics.” The penguins will be on show from early February, in the statement said, after being relocated from US-based SeaWorld.

"Snow" penguins at Ski Dubai

Penguins Dropping Like Flies and Dropping In Standings

The Penguin Post is alarmed at the current state of our favorite hockey team.  We hate to say it, but the Pittsburgh Penguins are dropping like flies, and dropping in the standings as they’ve lost 5 games in a row, losing last night to Ottawa 5-1 with a severely depleted line-up. They were already without top offensive producer Sidney Crosby and top defensive producer Kris Letang thanks to concussions, and had more injury woes pile up this week. Breakout star James Neal injured his foot and is out as is Kris Letang, and center Jordan Staal – who’s been scoring in Crosby’s place — injured his knee and will miss four to six weeks. Yikes.

Penguins and The Post Office

I don’t care what they say about the USPS, they are simply the best option out there. No question about it.  Price wise, you can’t beat flat rate shipping.  $4.75 to anywhere in the U.S.A. arriving in 2-3 days (including Saturday) for anything we can get into that flat rate envelope, and you’d be surprised what we can fit in there. It’s definitely not flat when we’re done with it.   Next Day Express Mail Flat Rate is $17.75, also to anywhere USA including Alaska and Hawaii. UPS won’t even offer ground rates there.  The post office will send a truck to pick up my shipments for free (UPS won’t), they also give me, (yes, they ship them to me for free) Priority Mail boxes in every shape and size, and if I ask nicely I can even get a roll or two of Priority Mail tape when I’m in a bind from my local P.O. clerks.   Plus, since I left Brooklyn where a trip to the  downtown Bklyn P. O. was akin to your worst Dept. Of Motor Vehicle nightmare, my present day Northampton Post Office is more like a visit to Floyd’s Barber Shop in Mayberry on the old Andy Griffith Show.  It’s friendly, stress free, even social, and there’s hardly ever a line.  But, if there is a line it’s never more than 5 or 10 minutes, everyone is polite, knows your name and if you’re in the mood there’s even time to shoot the breeze with the clerks.  In other words, it’s an actual pleasant experience. When there is an occasional line and I overhear cranky people around me whine about the service, I want teleport them to my old Brooklyn Post Office so they know what it’s like to have a nervous breakdown waiting on-line for 45 minutes while P.O. clerks do their jobs like slow motion zombies behind bullet proof glass (there for good reason).   It’s a shame these chronic complainers have no idea how good they have it.  The Post Office may be in financial trouble, but for my small penguin business they’re the no brainer way to go, and the reason why Penguin Placecan keep our shipping rates down.  Obviously as a relatively small operation it’s hard to keep up with the giant on-line retailers that offer free shipping, etc.  But, starting at $4.99 and only going up to $8.99 anywhere in the country with anything over $75 shipping for free we feel we’re more than fair and customer friendly.  With the post office now offering free pick-up and Click and Ship processing we’ve gone from doing 90% of our shipping via UPS and Fed Ex four years ago,  to 90% USPS.  People might think that UPS is the more reliable shipper, but my experience is that they’ve lost, misdirected and damaged more than their fair share of packages. Plus, UPS doesn’t count the day of pick-up, weekends or holidays towards their delivery timetable estimate.  In other words if you ship a package via UPS requesting 3 day service on the Friday before Memorial Day Weekend to the west coast, the package will unfortunately not arrive until the following Thursday.  I can’t tell you how many irate customers who’ve requested this type of service and received their penguins in 6 days rather than 3 I’ve experienced.   The bottom line is there’s simply no reason to use UPS 3 day service and pay triple the amount for shipping when the USPS will get it there 98% of the time (including Saturdays) faster.   Now starved for revenue, and bad press because the Post Office will deliver to every rural, middle of the nowhere address in the country for the same price as a major city, the USPS is raising their rates in a couple of weeks by about 10% (of course so is UPS and Fed Ex).

Holiday packages filled with penguins waiting for a pick up from the USPS

This makes them a little less of a bargain, but still a much better alternative for residential deliveries than UPS or Fed Ex.  So where does that leave Penguin Place and what we charge for shipping?  Right now our plan is to keep our shipping rates where they are and take advantage of 1st class shipping for smaller / lighter orders to save.  First class gets packages there almost as fast as Priority Mail for about half the cost, so the savings we incur by shipping about 20% of our orders this way will help keep shipping rates down for everyone across the board.  Of course in the big picture we can’t afford to lose money on shipping so we’ll see how it goes.  Until then, appreciate your mail person and post office and never forget they are the reason you’re paying $5 or $6  for shipping instead of $9 or $10

Rare Penguins Rescued Down Under

The Penguin Post has learned that a pair of Northern Rockhopper penguins have been discovered far from their usual habitat on the beaches near the town of Denmark in South Western Australia. They are believed to be one-year-old Northern Rockhoppers which are normally found on Amsterdam Island in the southern Indian Ocean, about 3000 miles from Australia. Denmark vet David Edmond has taken in the two, which have come ashore to moult, for safety. “When they come onshore for a moult they usually lose all of their feathers and they can’t swim because they’re no longer waterproof and they grow a new lot of feathers and that takes about two to four weeks,” he said. “During that period onshore, they’ll find somewhere nice and sheltered and they’ll sit there nice and quietly.

The one year old Rockhoppers need some time to molt before being released.

“So, basically we need to make sure they’re somewhere safe and secure where they’re not going to get attacked by dogs or foxes.” The Conservation Council of Western Australia’s Nick Dunlop says there could be a number of reasons why the penguins, more commonly known as Moseley penguins, are being found so far out of their usual habitat. “There are lots of strange things happening in the ocean at the moment due to changing ocean temperatures,” he said. “If they’re having trouble finding enough food and it takes them too far away from their breeding islands then they may come ashore and moult on another piece of land somewhere. “They can’t moult in the water because they will drown.” “So, the most likely explanation is they’ve dispersed further than normal because food is in short supply and when they got up to moulting weight, they’ve been too far away from their breeding colonies and they’ve come onshore in Australia on the mainland to replace their feathers.” A researcher and penguin expert at Murdoch University, Belinda Cannell, has recorded a spike in the number of dead penguins turning up on the South West coast. She says another breed, the Little Penguin, have washed up dead in much higher numbers this year, dotted along the coast from Safety Bay to the mouth of Donnelly River. Dr Cannell’s explanation is the Leeuwin Current which was much stronger in 2010 and early 2011. The current comes from northern WA bringing warmer water of lower salinity with fewer nutrients, resulting in less food than usual for the penguins. “It seemed to have some sort of impact on the fish supply that the penguins normally feed on as we had more than normal that were being found along the shoreline apparently dying from starvation, so they’re really underweight, no food in their stomachs,” she said. “It’s a signal that they’re travelling further to find fish supplies of some fish stocks so it’s more indicative that there’s nothing available for them closer to home.” Dr Edmond says he’s seen an alarming increase in the number of Rockhopper penguins – five in the last 12 months, compared with one or two in the previous 15 years. “Hopefully it is just a coincidence and it’s not that we’re having an epidemic of it,” he said. “There’s always a concern when we’re finding more than one animal. “I was speaking to DEC as well and there’s also been an increase in the number of baby seals that have been stranded over the last 12 months so that also makes a bit of concern, thinking ‘is there something else happening out there or is it just the season with the currents the way they are?” he asked. The author of the Field Guide to Birds of Australia books, Ken Simpson, has spent half of his life researching and cataloguing rare penguins. He says there’s been a drop in their numbers. “All the penguins of the entire world are dropping in numbers dramatically everywhere, almost all, with a couple of exceptions,” he said. “Their numerical total world population of each kind, whether it be from one or two islands or from 30 islands, like the Macaroni Penguins, they’re all dropping so it’s rare that they’re edging into endangerment or areas of concerns.” Mr Simpson says there are all sorts of theories as to why. “There’s various pollution problems, there may be starvation problems, the odd oil spill doesn’t help, some of the seas are becoming a bit more acidic than perhaps they ought to be,” he said. “There’s a lot of melt water going, fresh water, around Antarctica at the moment because of the steadily melting bits of the Ross Ice Shelf,” he said. “Slightly warmer water doesn’t favour food production, little tiny creatures that feed the fish, plankton size bits and pieces don’t grow so well in warm water so it’s a great combination of things and it’s very hard to pin it down.” Dr Dunlop says a diminished food supply is a concern. “We do know it’s got to do with changes in ocean climate at the time which normally affects food supply, their fish move away or their fish abundance declines,” he said. “There’s a consequence in change in sea temperature or change in current flows. “Normally the climate-induced effects are much greater than the fishery ones but they may actually work in concert in some situations.” He is urging anyone who finds a washed up penguin to keep it cool and contact either Dr Cannell at Murdoch University or the Department of Environment and Conservation so the reasons behind their death can be uncovered. And, vet David Edmond is organizing to take the two Northern Rockhopper penguins to a nearby island to release them.

A couple of locals on the beach with a not so local penguin

Rare Albino Penguin Sighting

The Penguin Post has learned that David Stephens, a naturalist aboard Lindblad Expeditions’ National Geographic Explorer ship, photographed this rare white Chinstrap penguin on Monday on Antarctica’s Aitcho Islands.

“At the water’s edge stood a leucistic Chinstrap,” Stephens wrote in the ship’s daily expedition report. “This bird was whitish, but not quite an albino. Instead, it had pigmented eyes and a washed-out version of a Chinstrap’s normal pattern. Many wondered about this unusual bird’s chances of success. While odd coloration may make fishing a bit more difficult, leucistic birds are regularly found breeding normally.” A leucistic bird has reduced pigmention, unlike a bird with albinism, which is a lack of skin pigment. The standard black-and-white coloring found on penguins serves as camouflage that aids the bird in fishing, so it’s unusual to find a penguin without it. “It is a fairly rare phenomenon,” said Dyan deNapoli, a penguin expert and author of “The Great Penguin Rescue,” who added that the rate of leucism in Chinstrap penguins is about 1 in 146,000. “When I was in Antarctica, I never saw one, and I saw a lot of penguins.”

Gentoo Penguins Get Set To Fly

The Penguin Post has learned that in Edinburgh, Scotland some Gentoo penguins are preparing to leave their Scottish zoo home and fly halfway around the world to western Canada.  No, they’re not migrating.  These gentoo penguins are be carefully loaded into specially built kennels and, under the supervision of a Calgary Zoo boss, make their way across the ocean via cargo plane. In Calgary, they’ll eventually be joined by three other species of the waddling black and white birds from various zoos across the United States and Canada in their new Calgary Zoo digs: Penguin Plunge. Five years after it was first announced, the $24.5-million exhibit is now due to open in less than six weeks. Zoo officials are hoping everything will be in place to open Penguin Plunge to the public in time for the Family Day long weekend in mid-February.

The display is a scaled-back version of the massive Arctic Landing plan first envisioned in 2006. That $100-million proposal included bringing polar bears and beluga whales, and included a plan for an outdoor body of water the size of a football field. Zoo critics were quick to lambaste the Calgary facility over animal welfare concerns. In the end, it was the price tag – which more than doubled at the height of Calgary’s boom when planning was still in early stages – that sunk Arctic Landing.

Today, the zoo has high hopes for the penguins.

Penguin Plunge has indoor and outdoor homes for the birds where visitors can watch the penguins swim, slide and gobble up fish and squid. It features rocky outcroppings, splashing water fountains and a deep chilly pool.

Inside, light projected on the domed ceiling is programed to glow like Aurora Australis. Visitors enter into a walk-through exhibit with Plexiglass walls where the penguins swim right past. The pathway has a viewing area, too, where the birds can paddle by underneath. Up to 50 penguins from four species – gentoo, king, rockhopper and the endangered Humboldt – will take up residence in the new display. It’s one of the most technically complex exhibits at the zoo. After a string of deaths and animal mishaps prompted a fiery reproach of the Calgary collection in 2010, zoo officials say they’ve been thorough in their homework and are ready to welcome the lovable flightless birds to the city.”They’re obviously endearing animals,’ said zoo spokeswoman Laurie Skene. They’re charismatic animals but there’s a bigger story to tell.” That story – information about global warming and the imminent threats facing some species of penguins – will be told through an educational component tied to the display. The four penguin species were chosen in part because the Calgary facility can provide a healthy environment and proper care for them, said Skene. But another part of the decision is the conservation role the zoo hopes to embrace. Humboldts are particularly threatened, while Rockhoppers are beginning to face new challenges to survival, she said. “Modern zoos are becoming sort of the Noah’s Arks of keeping genetic diversity going for some species that are not now facing extinction in the wild,” said Skene. Animal welfare groups say they’re concerned the zoo is more focused on cashing in on penguins’ cute factor, buoyed by crowd-pleasing films such as Happy Feet (starring Emperor penguins) and Mr. Popper’s Penguins (featuring gentoo birds). Of the four species coming to Calgary, for example, only the King penguins spend long periods in cold weather, noted Barry Kent MacKay, Canadian representative of Born Free USA. He said he hoped the Calgary Zoo gave correct information about each species true habitat rather than a “cartoonish” version. Important issues, such as food shortages caused by overfishing or oil spills, should be addressed in the display, he contended. “I don’t like to see these beautiful creatures put into an incorrect environment in terms of what they really live like and then rationalize it as being a conservation or education effort,” said MacKay, a director of Zoocheck Canada, one of the zoo’s fiercest critics. “What they’re doing is putting these birds into a very contrived and cliched setting and trying to convince people it’s educational.”

Missing New Years Penguin Recovered

Please leave the penguins alone! That’s the appeal made by Castletown, England resident Barbara Glassey, who the Penguin Post has learned had two gnome-like model penguins sitting in deckchairs on the gateposts of her Victoria Road home, that is until vandals struck on New Years Eve and removed one from its perch. Fortunately the penguin was recovered in next door’s garden, but it sustained some serious damage to the extent that it probably won’t be able to endure another such attack. ‘The same penguin was taken a number of years back and was later brought back by a policeman,’ said Barbara. ‘When it was re-sited it was part filled with something to make its removal more difficult, hence the damage.’ She added: ‘It could not take a third time, there is a crack in its back, it will shatter if it is done again.’ The permanent removal of one – or both – of the penguins would be a great loss to the street scene and they would be missed by children and adults alike. The penguins were purchased over the internet from a penguin store in America years ago. ‘When they arrived we needed Tom’s father Dennis to put them on the posts for us, which he was reluctant to do at first and made all sorts of suggestions as to where they could go in the garden,’ said Barbara. ‘He was too embarrassed to be seen doing it. Eventually he decided a quiet Sunday morning would be the best time. ‘He never would refuse us any request at the end of the day. He had almost finished cementing the last penguin on and feeling good that he’d got away with any ribbing from his friends, when someone on the other side of the road shouted: “I see they haven’t locked them all up Dennis!”’ The penguins complemented what grew to become a whole garden of nautical objects, shells and ornaments to reflect the maritime interest of Barbara’s husband Tom, a well-known character who was blind and died in 2009. People even send Christmas cards to the penguins, the cards are addressed to: The Penguin House in Castletown. ‘They mean so much to children and adults,’ said Barbara. ‘The whole thing is Tom. It’s Tom and my life and everybody else’s, any children love them. When teachers at Victoria Road School ask children where they want to go for nature walks they always want to see the penguins.’ She said: ‘The penguin will eventually be repaired and take its place on the gatepost again, but I’d like the revellers to leave the penguins sitting watching the world go by in their deck chairs by the roundabout. ‘If only as a memorial to Tom who got so much fun knowing he’d given someone a smile for the day and his father Dennis, who did so much for us.’

Barbara Glassey with the recovered penguin, which was removed from the gatepost of her house in Castletown

Penguin Hat

If you liked that old Monty Python sketch about the Penguin On The Television you’re going to love our new penguin on top of the winter hat hat.  Because folks do we have a penguin hat for you.  Yes, that is indeed a plush penguin sitting (securely) on top of that warm and fashionable winter hat. So here it is my fellow penguin fans, the ultimate in silly penguin chic.  Wear it walking down the street, running errands, or on the bus or train.  Wear it ice skating, skiing or snowboarding as nothing will beat the inspiring feeling of having a penguin sitting on top of your head as you embrace the day with open arms (flippers) and a radiant smile, not to mention the happy, approving looks you’ll get from all who gaze upon you and your penguin hat?  Just don’t wear it in the movies as the people behind you will stop being amused once the lights dim.  The Penguin Hat comes in one size fits all adults.  It has a buckle and adjustable strap so you can make it as snug and toasty as you like.  It’s made of 100% polyester and contains no animal products. The penguin is not heavy on your head, but it is on securely, is soft to the touch and easy on the eyes.  Our penguin hats are particularly great for people who love penguins . . . and even for folks that never even gave penguins a second thought.  For as we all know penguins are universally cherished and loved by everyone, and are nowadays commonly prescribed to people in place of antidepressants, so undoubtedly wearing this hat may be just what the doctor ordered.

The Great Penguin Race

The Penguin Post has become aware of a very different kind of penguin race and for a good cause.  Purchase a rubber penguin for $5 and race it down the snow covered slope, where all proceeds benefit the Mount Washington Valley Children’s Museum in North Conway, New Hampshire. Folks can purchase a rubber penguin ahead of time at the MWV Children’s Museum, The Settler’s Green Tubing Event on Saturday December 3rd , Cranmore Mountain, or at event registration the day of the event. As a separate Artistic Judging Category this year, the folks running the event will  let contestants modify their individual Penguins. Because of all the hard work and effort that will be put into these Masterpieces, they decided to just display these works of art and not let them get damaged on the race course.