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.

New King Penguin In Town

The Penguin Post has learned that a King penguin that hatched on April 9 was shown off at The Aquarium at Moody Gardens in Galveston, Texas yesterday. The still-unnamed chick is the second to hatch this season. A blood test will be done to determine the sex of the penguin chick and then it will be named. The chick weighed 20 ounces at birth and will grow to about 35 pounds and 36 inches tall. It will join its parents named Petty and Chilly Willy and 31 other King penguins in the exhibit. It is the 14th King penguin to have been successfully bred at the aquarium. The public can also see the penguins on the Penguin Cam .

The Latest Lone Star King.

King Penguin Chicks In The Mid-West

The Penguin Post has learned that three King Penguin chicks hatched at the Saint Louis Zoo’s Penguin & Puffin Coast this past January and February. King chicks hatch from their eggs after about 55 days. The parents then continue to keep it warm under their belly flap for 30-40 days until it grows too large to cover. They continue to share feeding duties for about eight months. This handsome bird is one of the largest penguin species. As an adult, it weighs about 33 pounds, second only to the Emperor penguin. The penguin chick keepers routinely weigh the youngsters to monitor their growth. After the quick check, they are returned to their parents.

King Penguin Takes a NZ Vacation

The Penguin Post has learned that a young emperor penguin swam thousands of miles in the wrong direction and ended up stranded on a New Zealand beach.  It has been 44 years since a visitor like this was last spotted roaming the shores of the country as emperor penguins are native to the Antarctic.
Kapiti Coast resident Christine Wilton was walking her dog on Peka Peka Beach on the north island’s west coast on Monday evening when she discovered the penguin.  Experts say that the penguin could have begun its journey several months ago while on a hunt for squid and krill – and lost its way. Speaking of the unusual sighting, Wilton said: “I saw this glistening white thing standing up and I thought I was seeing things. It was out of this world to see it … like someone just dropped it from the sky.”Colin Miskelly, a curator at Te Papa, the Museum of New Zealand, said the penguin would have been from among this year’s crop of chicks. “Usually they stay among the pack ice and feed on fish and squid and krill. This one’s just kept going north and it’s a very long way from its usual range.”Conservationists believe the stray penguin, which is 32in high, is around ten-months-old. The last time an emperor penguin was discovered in the country was on Southland’s Oreti Beach in 1967. Experts have said that the bird is healthy, but will need to make its way down south soon in order to survive. If left alone it is expected that the bird will eventually swim back out to sea. While the Antarctic visitor remains in the area, New Zealand’s Department of Conservation advises that people should not disturb it and ensure that dogs are kept on leads.

King Penguin strolls on the beach in New Zealand

3-D Penguins Invade Penguin Place

Just waddled in all the way from Germany to Penguin Place is a trio of very cool 3-D penguin goodies.  The first item out of the box was a 3-D penguin luggage tag, and if that we’re cool enough out popped a 3-D King Penguin pen.  Then to our surprise at the bottom of the box, underneath the pens and luggage tags were the 3-D King Penguin postcards.  All these great penguin treats are made with the lenticular 3-D process and are sturdy, sealed and we give them two flippers up.  Way Up!!

Now that's what we call a cool luggage tag!

Penguin Doesn’t Pick On Someone His Own Size

The Penguin Post has come across what may be the feistiest penguin north of the South Pole.  It seems that this King penguin found a giant elephant seal blocking his path to the water, he stood his ground and then gave the elephant seal slap with his flipper.  It wasn’t long before the giant beast let out a huge roar giving the spunky penguin an incentive to find an alternate route around him.  The altercation on the South Atlantic island of South Georgia was captured by British wildlife photographer Robert Fuller, 38.  He said: ‘Several seals had just come out of the surf and were lying on the shore blocking the penguins from getting to the water. But this young penguin was full of bravado.”  Perhaps had he access to a slingshot things would have turned out differently.

 

I'm waddling here, I'm waddling here!