Penguin Parade Waddles Once More

The Penguin Post has learned that the Edinburgh Zoo’s most famous residents are to resume the daily penguin parade a year after it was halted while their enclosure was renovated.

The story behind the origins of the parade are as follows. In 1951, a keeper left the door to the penguin’s enclosure open by mistake and a gentoo escaped. Followed by other birds, they went for a walkabout. The escape was so popular with visitors the penguin parade has been a part of the zoo’s daily routine ever since. In early 2012, the parade stopped when the enclosure closed for renovation. Fifty-five penguins were sent to other zoos during the work, bringing the marching to a halt.  The new enclosure, called Penguins Rock, opened on March 15 and the gentoos have been practising their marching technique for the first parade on Friday. Colin Oulton from the zoo said: “We have a mixture of both old and new birds taking part in the parade, with as many as seventeen birds participating in the practice runs. The practice runs have all gone pretty smoothly; the old pros got back into it right away and the new penguins were enthusiastic to join in. “Penguins are naturally inquisitive and they enjoy the opportunity the parade gives them each day. We don’t force any penguins to take part, or encourage them with food rewards – each penguin participates in the parade purely because it wants to.”

As well as the Gentoo and Rockhopper penguins, the zoo’s five King penguins have returned in time for Easter.They took a little longer to get home as they started to moult earlier than usual. The process can be stressful, so it was decided to keep them in England until they had finished moulting. Among them is Sir Nils Olav, the mascot of the Norwegian Royal Guard. Mr Oulton said: “It was actually Sir Nils Olav holding everybody up as he was the last to moult. As the kings have only just returned to the zoo this week it is unlikely that any of them will be getting involved in the first official parade, but it won’t be too long before they are settled and ready to participate.” The penguin parade starts at 2.15pm on Friday at their enclosure.

Young Penguin Makes A Friend

Humans love to line up in front of the glass walls at penguin zoo exhibits, staring at the antics of the black-and-white, two-legged creatures.  But what about when the tides are turned, when penguins get a chance to meet the strange humans,  observing them for the first time? The Penguin Post has learned that that moment was captured on camera by a man traveling to penguins’ home habitat, Antarctica. “I was on a tour with friends in Antarctica when we visited a penguin colony,” the visitor, Joel Oleson, explained.  “Our guide told us not to approach the penguins, but that it was okay for them to approach us.” “I laid down to seem non- threatening, and the baby penguin approached me,” said Oleson, a self-described “travel junkie” who has traveled  to over 100 countries since 2008 and blogs about his adventures at Travelingepic.com.  Watch the video to see what happened next.

Penguins Romancing The Stone

As crime waves go, there’s something very fishy about a series of thefts taking place at the London Aquarium.  As the mating season begins, ‘criminal’ Gentoo penguins have been stealing pebbles from rival nests.  This is not the Penguin Posts first encounter with penguin pebble thieves and we’re sure it won’t be the last, as with a stealthy glance over their shoulders, the fiendish birds quickly waddle to their neighbors’ unguarded nests, steal a stone and run back to their own nest.  In many cases it won’t be long before the ill-gotten stones will again be stolen by another bird or even the original owner. You can blame this circular crime wave on hormones more than anything else, but it’s a crime none the less. But as the number of break-ins increase, the Gentoos have become suspicious of their fellow colony members, and no one is beyond suspicion. If they notice a rival moving in to plunder their pebbles they quickly run back to defend their nests, keeping everyone on their webbed toes. The colony of 10, which arrived at the attraction last year, are in the middle of their first mating season at the aquarium. Males declare their interest in a female by selecting and presenting a ‘love token’ in the form of a pebble to their chosen female. If it is accepted, the couple then begin collecting more pebbles to line their doughnut-shaped nest. The birds build their stone nests to elevate and protect their eggs. Smooth pebbles are ‘like gold dust’ because they are easy to pick up and comfortable to lie on, according to those who tend to the birds. Hayley Clark, aquarist at the Sea Life London Aquarium, said extra pebbles had to be put into the enclosure after burglar Vladimir has conducted daily robberies on surrounding nests. She said: ‘Some of them are a little bit more tricky than the others, they keep an eye out for the owner of the nest before stealing. A couple of them will just run straight to a nest and will be chased off straight away. ‘They just prefer a certain type of pebble. Pebbles are like gold dust to these guys. ‘The male works out where he wants his nest and that is when he starts collecting pebbles. The female will join in as well after he has given her a few pebbles to place in the nest how she wants it. ‘It is like giving your girlfriend chocolate.’ Ms Clark added that there has been ‘a few tiffs’ over pebble thefts. ‘They will run over pretty sharpish and tell them where to go,’ she said. ‘It can get a little bit aggressive but they generally back away very quickly.’ No eggs have been seen yet but breeders are hoping that a few will turn up in the next few weeks. The pilfering activities of pesky penguins were also featured in the BBC’s Frozen Planet when crews captured Adelie penguins performing a similar thefts while filming in Antarctica.

Penguins keeping an eye on their precious pebbles.

Seaworld’s Ultimate Penguin Experience

The Penguin Post has learned of new details of what may be the ultimate penguin experience (outside of a trip to Antarctica) by SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida regarding the park’s upcoming 2013 much anticipated new attraction, Antartica – Empire of the Penguin.  The penguin-centric ride will utilize new technology that will allow the guests to experience the ride differently from visit to visit.  Guests will also be allowed to choose the thrill level they wish to experience as each car seats eight people who can decide as a group which level they’d prefer.  Also, as part of the ride a new SeaWorld star will be introduced – a young Gentoo penguin who will serve as the ride’s guide.  No word as to the technology that will allow that to happen. The attraction will immerse guests in an incredible penguin experience with various species including: Gentoos, Rockhoppers, Adelies and Kings.  Designers have yet to reveal how close guests will get to the penguins, but the penguins’ habitat must stay in the low 30 degrees for their comfort, so you may want to bring a jacket. With the habitat kept at that temperature, Antartica – Empire of the Penguin will be the coldest theme park attraction in the world. Or the coolest to say the least.

All we can say is...Wow!

Reaction to Desert Penguins Blow Hot and Cold

For the first time, penguins that normally live in the freezing cold in and around Antarctica can be found in the scorching Middle East. And that’s ruffling some feathers, with some animal rights activists crying foul.  In Dubai’s humid desert — with its 120-degree summer heat — a colony of penguins now lives a long way, in every way, from Antarctica. They’re transplants, 20 penguins in all, bred in captivity and newly-arrived from Sea World San Antonio. Their new home is a mammoth indoor ski facility called Ski Dubai, on the Arabian Peninsula. Visitors can see penguins up close, touch them, and even swim with them. “The whole objective of the program is to raise awareness about those wonderful creatures and about the environment,” says Omar Al-Banna, the marketing director at Ski Dubai, “and what people should do and what they shouldn’t do about the penguins and the environment.” The new arrivals will live in climate-controlled cool and be pampered like sheikhs. They won’t have to hunt for fish. A staff of 13 people — part minders, part butlers — will serve them restaurant-quality dishes. Vets will see them every two weeks. And there’s not a predatory seal in sight. Still, some animal rights critics complain this exhibits distorts the true penguin experience in the wild, both for the birds and their visitors.  But, asks the Penguin Post aren’t these penguins born and raised in San Antonio?  Not, exactly the South Pole.  “These are ice animals and climate change and other issues impact them,” says Humane Society International Vice President Kitty Block. “Does it educate people about the plight of these animals? So, if it’s not educating and it’s just entertainment, well then, there is a concern about that.” But the exhibit’s organizers compare penguins to animal ambassadors that will now represent their species — and flaunt their charm — to a region that might otherwise never see them.

Penguin Picture of The Day

A Gentoo penguin pulls the strap of a visitors camera during a walk on a road covered with snow as visitors watch at the Asahiyama Zoo in Asahikawa city, Japan's northern island of Hokkaido on February 3, 2012. Penguins take a stroll everyday to exercise before visitors during the winter season.

Everything You Wanted To Know About Penguins

Since today is International Penguin Day we at Penguin Place thought we’d put out a simple, fun and sort of complete guide to the wonderful world of penguins courtesy of the wonderful Kidzone Penguin Facts Pages.

Penguins are birds with black and white feathers and a funny waddle.  But unlike most birds, penguins are not able to fly — in the air that is.  Penguins spend as much as 75% of their time underwater, searching for food in the ocean.  When they are in the water, they dive and flap their wings.  It looks just like they are flying!

Penguins are shaped like a torpedo.  Their body is built for the most efficient swimming with their average speed in the water being about 15 miles per hour.
Airborne Penguins
The only time penguins are airborn is when they leap out of the water.  Penguins will often do this to get a gulp of air before diving back down for fish.  Penguins cannot breathe underwater, though they are able to hold their breath for a long time.  They also use their ability to leap out of the water to get from the ocean onto land if there are cliffs or ice flows to deal with.
Temperature
Penguins spend a lot of time dealing with temperature.  They are warm blooded, just like people with a normal body temperature of about 100 degrees F. So how do they stay warm in the cold places they live and in the icy cold waters? Just like whales, penguins have a layer of fat under their skin called “blubber”.  Overtop of this they are covered with fluffy “down” feathers and overtop of those they have their outer feathers which overlap to seal in warmth.  Penguins rub oil from a gland onto their feathers to help make them waterproof and windproof.
Dinner Time
Penguins eat seafood.  Their main diet is fish, though they’ll also eat squid, small shrimplike animals called “krill” (see photo to the right) and crustaceans. If you look closely at a penguin’s bill you’ll notice a hook at the end, perfect for grabbing dinner.  They also have backward facing bristles on their tongues that helps slippery seafood from getting away. Penguins don’t live near freshwater — at least none that isn’t frozen.  Instead they drink salt water.  They have a special gland in their bodies that takes the salt out of the water they drink and pushes it out of grooves in their bill.  A handy in-house filtration system!
Just a Boy and a Girl…
During the mating season penguins head for special nesting areas on the shore.  The area where penguins mate, nest and raise their chicks is called a “rookery”. When penguins are ready to mate, the male stands with his back arched and wings stretched.  He makes a loud call and struts about to attract a female. When the penguins find a mate, they bond with each other by touching necks and slapping each other on the back with their flippers.  They also “sing” to each other so they learn to recognize each other’s voices. Once a penguin finds a mate, they usually stay together for years — for as long as they have chicks.
Penguins don’t jump, they BOUNCE!
Penguins don’t live in the best habitats for finding nesting material, so they have to make do with what they can find. Rockhopper penguins build their nests on steep rocky areas.  To get there, they hold both feet together and bounce from ledge to ledge (imagine Winnie the Pooh’s Tigger with wings and you’ve got the idea).  These birds can bounce up to 5 feet! Magellanic penguins dig burrows under the ground to form huge “cities” similar to gophers. Adelies and chinstrap penguins use rocks to build their nests.  The perfect rock is a rare commodity for these birds.  They’ll often fight over or steal each other’s stones!

Adelie and Chinstrap Penguins

Penguin Chicks
As soon as the egg is laid (penguins lay one or two eggs at a time), the female dashes out for dinner, leaving the male to watch the nest. When the female returns (it can take up to two weeks for her to come back) it’s the male’s turn to head out for food, leaving the female with the egg. When the chick hatches, it immediately starts calling so that its parents will learn to recognize its voice.
Penguin Predators
Penguins are a food source for a number of marine mammals, especially leopard seals.  These seals hide under ice flows and wait for their prey.  Other marine mammal predators are sea lions and orcas. The penguins aren’t without protection though.  Their white bellies blend with the snow and sunlight making it difficult for an underwater predator to see them.  Penguins are also eaten by a number of birds — for example, the Australian sea eagle and the Skua.  The penguins black backs blend against the dark ocean water, making it more difficult to spot them from above. Penguins also have a number of on-land predators like ferrets, cats, snakes, lizards, foxes and rats.
Playful Penguin Pastimes
Between staying warm, raising chicks, finding food and avoiding predators, a penguin’s life may not sound like much fun.  But penguins have some playful pastimes — many of which are surprisingly similar to human hobbies!
Tobogganing:  Penguins lie on their belly and toboggan through the ice and snow.  This helps them move quickly.
Surfing:  Penguins are often seen surfing through the waves onto land.
Penguin Habitat
There are 17 species of penguin, each slightly different.  Some of the species have nicknames which can cause people to think there are more than 17 species (for example the Little penguin is also known as the Blue penguin).All of the species live in the Southern hemisphere.  Many live at the South Pole on Antarctica.  But some don’t live in such cold places.  They are found on the coasts of South America, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the Galapagos Islands.  The Emperor penguin is the only species that breeds and nests in Antarctica through the frigid winter.
Adelie Penguins
Adelie penguins are the smallest of the Antarctic penguins.  One way to distinguish them from the other penguins is by their all black head and the white ring around their eye. Adelie penguins were named after the wife of a French explorer in the 1830s.  They are about 2 feet tall and weigh 8 or 9 pounds.  Their diet is mainly fish.
Adelies build their nests of stones on the rocky beaches of Antarctica, jealously guarding and often fighting over the best rocks. There are over 2.5 million breeding pairs living in Antarctica.  They live in groups of about 10,000 birds.

Adelie Penguin

African Penguins
African penguins have a black upside down U-shape on their neck with black speckles on their chest.  They are about 2 feet tall and weigh between 7 and 11 pounds.
African penguins live and breed on the coast of South Africa.  People have hunted these penguins so much that their numbers declined from at least one million to about 150,000.  They are now a protected species, but are still caused trouble by oil spills off the coast of Africa. African penguins are also known as the Blackfoot penguin.
Chinstrap Penguins
Chinstrap penguins get their name from the small black band that runs under their chin.  They are about 2 feet tall and weigh about 10 pounds.  They feed on krill and fish. Chinstrap penguins are the most common penguins with a population of about 13 million.  They often live on large icebergs on the open ocean in the Antarctic region.

Chinstrap Penguin

Emperor Penguins
Emperor penguins are the largest penguin species.  They are nearly 4 feet tall and weigh up to 90 pounds.  Those are BIG penguins! Emperor penguins are easily identifiable by their size and the orange “glow” on their cheeks. Emperor penguins live, year round, in the Antarctic. Temperatures can fall as low as -140 degrees Fahrenheit (-60 degrees Celsius).   Most penguin species lay two eggs at a time, but due to the difficulty of raising chicks in such a harsh climate, the Emperor penguin only lays one egg.

Emperor Penguin

Most penguin species take turns warming the egg, but it’s up to the Emperor penguin dads to do all the work once the egg is laid.  The male stands with the egg on his feet under a brood pouch (for warmth).  He does this for up to 9 weeks, without food, waiting for the chick to hatch.  During this time, the male may lose up to half its body weight. Once the egg hatches, the female returns and the male heads out to the ocean to feed.
Galapagos Penguins
Penguins do not live in the wild in any location in the Northern Hemisphere.
But, one penguin comes close. The northern most colony of penguins are located in the Galapagos Islands.  The Galapagos Penguins can survive close to the equator because the Humboldt current brings cold waters to the islands from the Antarctic.
Gentoo Penguins
Gentoo penguins live on many of the islands of the Antarctic region but the main colony is on the Falklands.  They are about 3 feet tall and weigh about 13 pounds.  Their diet consists of krill and some small fish.  Gentoo penguins are easily identifiable by the wide white stripe over the top of their head.  It runs from one eye to the other.
Gentoo penguins make nests on the inland grasslands.  They pile stones, grass and sticks to create a circular nest.  Like the Adelies and Chinstrap penguins, the Gentoo will also fight over stones for nesting.

Gentoo Penguin

King Penguins
The King penguin is the second largest penguin and looks somewhat like the Emperor penguin.  They are about 3 feet tall and weigh up to 35 pounds. King penguins have orange spots near their ears and on the neck. King penguins mainly eat fish and some squid and crustaceans.  They are found on many sub-Antarctic islands including Crozet, Prince Edward , Kerguelen, South Georgia and Mazquarie Islands. Like the Emperor penguin, the King penguin hatches only one chick at a time.  Their chicks have fuzzy brown feathers for about a year after they are born.

King Penguin and Chick

Macaroni Penguins
“Macaroni” used to be a hairstyle in 18th century England. Didn’t you ever wonder why Yankee Doodle called the feather in his cap, “Macaroni”?  It’s not about pasta, it’s about a penguin!!   The Macaroni penguins were so named by English sailors because the yellow and black feathers sticking out of the side of their heads looked like an 18th century English hairstyle.

Stuck a feather in his cap and called it Macaroni

Magellanic penguins were named after the explorer Ferdinand Magellan who first saw them in 1519 on his first voyage around the tip of South America. Magellanic penguins are about 2 feet, 3 inches tall and weigh 9 pounds.  They are the largest of the warm weather penguins. They live on the coast of the Argentina, Chile and the Falkland Islands. During mating season, Magellanic penguins burrow, forming underground nesting colonies.

Magellanic Penguins

Rockhopper Penguins
Similar to the Macaroni penguins, the Rockhopper penguins have decorative feather tufts on their heads — theirs are yellow in color.  Their most unusual trait is their ability to hop from rock to rock to their nesting places.  They keep both feet together when hopping.  Using this method, they are able to hop up to four or five feet!

Rockhopper and Chick

Yellow-eyed Penguins

The yellow-eyed penguins have a band of yellow feathers going from the bill, circling the eyes and up around the head. The yellow-eyed penguin lives on the coast of New Zealond.  It is the rarest of all penguins due to the deforestation of the New Zealand coastline and the introduction of new predatory species to the island.  Sadly, there are only an estimated 1,500 breeding pairs of yellow-eyed penguins.

The rare Yellow Eyed Penguin of New Zealand

Penguin To Get New Beak

The Penguin Post has learned that an injured Gentoo penguin that lost a piece of its beak now has a new one.  The penguin was found stranded on a beach near Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and was brought to a local zoo.  Its thought that the penguins beak was shattered by a boat propeller and with his damaged beak he could only eat with the help of caretakers.  The zoo’s veterinarian fit the five month old penguin, now named Tungo with an acrylic beak to help the bird eat and catch fish on its own. In a few weeks, he is expected to fully recover and be ready to travel to a breeding center in California.

Penguin Caught Looking In Mirror

Captured in the icy wastelands of Gourdin Island, off the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, the small “philosophical” Gentoo penguin seemed to study his mirror image carefully in a remarkable human-like pose.

Surrounded by the thousands of fellow birds on the island, which is a nesting ground for Adeline, Chinstrap and Gentoo penguins, the little male was one who stood out from the feathery crowd.

The astonishing pictures were captured in February by PR consultancy Director Edward Dixon, 45, as he cruised around the continent with a band of wildlife photographers aiming to document the region’s animals.

Travelling aboard the 72 metre and 1753 ton ‘Professor Molchanov’, a Finnish-built reinforced research vessel originally made for the Russian Institute of Science in 1982, the group was led by the Ocean Geographic Society, an Australian non-profit marine life and conservation force.

Mr Dixon, 45, from Singapore, said: “I was sitting in the middle of literally thousands of penguins, looking for something new and interesting to photograph.

“Most of the birds were either chasing their parents for food, or collecting food for their chicks, but this one looked almost philosophical among the chaos.

“I was watching a few penguins splash through this puddle, and this guy stopped in his tracks and looked down like he saw his reflection.

“It was a very child-like gesture. As if a kid was looking in the mirror for the first time. He seems fascinated, which made him even more human-like.

“He actually stayed staring at his own face for several minutes before wandering off and blending back in with the masses of penguins on the beach.”

Gentoos are easily recognised by their wide bonnet-like strip spanning the tops of their heads.

Adults can reach a height of 36in, making them the biggest breed outside the two giant species, the Emperor and King Penguins.

The birds are mainly found around the Antarctic Peninsula and are the fastest swiming penguins – cruising underwater at up to 22 miles-per-hour.

Tennessee Tuxedo’s Name Is Pepper

With the penguin loving world waiting for a decision with baited breath the Tennessee Aquarium’s first penguin chick now has a name – Pepper. And soon visitors might meet Pepper, or some of her other pals, up close during special penguin encounter programs.
Aviculturists who have been caring for the macaroni chick chose the winning name saying it fits her spicy personality. “She IS a pepper,” said aviculturist Loribeth Aldrich. “She’s energetic, unpredictable and feisty.”
Looking at her today, many visitors might not get the impression that Pepper is a bold bird. Some have asked why she often stands by herself on a rock away from the other penguins. “It’s not because the other penguins have cast her out. It’s because she claimed that spot and won’t let any of the other penguins stand there,” Aldrich said.  That independent behavior led Aldrich and others to pick Pepper as the winning name from all of the other entries in the Aquarium’s naming contest. “I think Pepper is a fun name for her and seems to fit her Tomboy character,” said Kevin Calhoon, the Aquarium’s assistant curator of forests. Senior aviculturist Amy Graves agrees, “Pepper was the one name that just seemed to fit.”
It took Tennessee Aquarium “election officials” quite awhile to review nearly 1,000 ballots cast in the penguin naming contest. Because she is a macaroni penguin, quite a few pasta and cheese-related entries came in like Ziti, Penne, Rotini and Velveeta. Others learned of her slap-happy nature and cast write-in votes for Slappy, Boom-Boom and Laila Ali.
One visitor from Nova Scotia, Canada submitted a numeric name. “#87 after Sidney Crosby from the Pittsburg Penguins, Stanley Cup Champs ’09,” wrote Carmello Gillis.
Another visitor suggested the Aquarium name the macaroni, “Stephanie Colbert,” a tip of the hat to Comedy Central’s popular talk show host.
In the end, four people entered the name Pepper in the contest. Glenn Carlson’s name was selected at random and declared the winner. Carlson will enjoy a prize package including overnight accommodations at the Sheraton Read House and a family four pack of tickets to the Tennessee Aquarium, IMAX 3D Theater, River Gorge Explorer and Creative Discovery Museum for kids.
Visitors might not have to wait too long for another chance to vote for a gentoo or macaroni name. “The penguins will start courtship behavior again as spring approaches in March,” said Calhoon. “Pepper will be a curious onlooker this season, but she may try to steal some rocks or pester a few of the other penguins while they’re busy building nests.”

Introducing Pepper!