Penguins Take A Mud Bath

Considering the amount of time they spend outdoors in some of the roughest environments the world has to offer, penguins usually manage to remain remarkably dapper. However, this penguin decided to throw decorum aside in a dash for the sea, swimming across a lake of mud in its path and cloaking its usually impeccable black and white plumage in brown slime.

In fact, the bird was so thoroughly covered that it could have been trying to pass itself off as a chocolate penguin.

A huge colony of penguins were gathered on a place called Salisbury Plain in remote South Georgia when a huge mud lake poured across the ice and separated them from the water. Thousands of the cute creatures decided to be sensible and take the longer route around the muck so they could reach the ocean.

But a plucky handful decided they were not going to let a bit of mud get in their way. Instead, they jumped in and made a swim for it. However, they no doubt quickly regretted it.  Within seconds the King Penguins were covered from beak to webbed feet in oozing slime. When they emerged from the pool they looked like they had been dipped in chocolate as they were completely covered in the mud. Eventually they finally reached the sea and the embarrassed penguins threw themselves into the ice-cold ocean for a much-needed wash.

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!

King Penguins Coming Back

The Penguin Post has learned that King Penguins on the sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island are showing healthy levels of genetic diversity after coming back from the brink of extinction. This is positive news for the penguins as genetic variability is important for the long-term health and survival of a species because it helps a population to adapt when faced with environmental changes or diseases. King Penguins were decimated by humans during the 1800s, but due to conservation efforts they are now thriving on Macquarie Island, which is located in the Southern Ocean between Australia and Antarctica. “The conservation program has been particularly successful in getting the population back to its natural size and genetic diversity,” said lead author and evolutionary biologist Tim Heupink from Griffith University in Queensland of a study published in Biology Letters today.

Penguins hunted for blubber oil At around 90 cm tall, King Penguins are the second largest penguins in the world (Emperor penguins are the biggest). Thousands lived on Macquarie Island until humans arrived in 1810 and began hunting them for their blubber oil. After years of human exploitation, the penguin population was reduced to a single, very small colony, and several conservation measures were introduced to aid their recovery. Macquarie Island was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1933 and given World Heritage status in 1997. Fishing was also controlled, and pests, such as cats, were eradicated. This allowed the penguins to flourish once again. Their population increased and they recolonised previous breeding sites, expanding their range over the island.

The bottleneck effect Populations that have been reduced to a very small size can suffer from the ‘bottleneck effect’. This happens when the few surviving individuals represent a small genetic sample of the population, and the variability of the gene pool is reduced and may remain so even when numbers increase again. But genetic analyses in this study found that this has not occurred in the Macquarie Island King Penguins. Heupink’s team extracted DNA from the penguins currently on the island and also from the bones of 1,000-year-old King Penguin fossils. They used sequencing machines to assess the amount of variability within the DNA pieces and then compared the modern and ancient penguin samples.

Bouncing back from the brink The team found that the genetic diversity for the ancient and current populations of King Penguins was approximately the same. This outcome is unique, as similar ancient DNA studies of threatened animals have shown the opposite result, explaining why species often do not recover after a sharp population decline. “The genetic diversity of King Penguins is now the same as it used to be 1,000 years ago. This means that the population is healthy and adaptable to future changes,” said Heupink. Craig Miller, an evolutionary geneticist at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, commented on the findings. “Despite the Macquarie Island populations of King Penguins being driven to the brink of extinction, they have recovered their pre-exploitation levels of genetic variation in a relatively short period. This is likely to be due to that fact that the population, although significantly reduced in size, did not stay in the ‘bottleneck’ for a long period of time,” he said. Once the island became a wildlife sanctuary, the penguin population was able to grow rapidly, which increased the chances of retaining a variety of genetic traits, including the rare ones. Strong population growth also decreased the likelihood of inbreeding. “The study shows that if managed correctly, even populations close to extinction can recover quickly, both in terms of their numbers and levels of genetic variation,” said Miller.

King Penguins at Lusitania Bay on Macquarie Island. These penguins have regained their natural levels of population size and genetic diversity after coming close to extinction last century.

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.

Penguins Waddle In Pittsburgh

The Penguin Post has learned that in Pittsburgh, penguins enjoy public walks among their fans – and we’re not talking about the hockey players.  We’re talking about the King penguins that reside at the Pittsburgh Aquraium during the event Penguins on Parade, which will take place throughout February and March. In anticipation of this waddling event, penguin keeper Katy Wozniak has been letting the penguins practice waddling and hopping around on a path beside the PPG Aquarium at the Pittsburgh Zoo while admiring crowds gather to watch. “We’re going to give all the Pittsburgh folks an opportunity to come out Saturday and Sunday at 12:00,” says Dwayne Biggs, the curator of aquatic life. And how do the penguins feel about the chance to go for a stroll outside their enclosure? “They love it, they actually love it,” Biggs responds. “We’ll open the door up to the exhibit, and Katy and the staff will call the birds to the door and say, ‘Hey guys, it’s time to go out and play!’ Basically, they’ll come up to the door, come out and they enjoy it.” After their brisk practice walk, the penguins returned back to their home in the aquarium to rest up for the weekend.

Penguins Use Spa Treatments to Keep Cool

The Penguin Post has learned via the BBC that King Penguin chicks are using mud baths to keep cool during  warm Summer days.  The birds use streams and thick, cooling mud to keep their large, fluffy bodies from overheating in summer temperatures that can reach 17C. A BBC film crew captured the behaviour in St Andrews Bay, South Georgia, whilst filming for the documentary Frozen Planet. The team set out to capture footage of chicks paddling in rivers and streams; the mud-bathing was “unexpected”. “I don’t think it’s been filmed before,” programme producer Miles Barton told BBC Nature. He and his colleagues spent a week with the bay’s penguin colony, documenting the behaviour of the birds. “These big fluffy chicks are on a 10-month cycle,” Mr Barton explained. “They have to be able to survive the winter and the summer.” Their thick downy coats protect them in winter temperatures on the sub-Antarctic island, which can fall to about -10C. But when the team arrived on the island in early November, they found penguin chicks lined up around the streams, apparently wanting to cool off in the mild summer sunshine. “The streams run off the glacier, so the water’s nice and chilly for them,” said Mr Barton. “But the problem is that their coats aren’t designed for swimming. “So we’d see one of them suddenly launch itself into the water, then leap up again almost immediately as if it was shocked to find itself in this alien element.” Occasionally though, a penguin would immerse itself and swim around much like the adult birds do. “But when the chicks got wet, they looked liked drowned rats,” Mr Barton recalled. He said that there was a serious and rather risky side to this comic cooling behaviour. If penguin chicks are caught in a strong current, they can be swept out to sea and large predatory seabirds, giant petrels, wait at the mouth of the stream to “pick off” any weak, struggling penguins. A safer and more comical method of cooling down that a few of the chicks were enticed by, was a dark, muddy pool. They appeared to use this as a spa. “What you don’t want to know is what was in that pool,” said Mr Barton. The island, he explained, is home to 400,000 penguins, so the beaches are covered with penguin waste and the remains – beaks, feathers, scales and bones – of dead birds. “That pool was the rotted remains of dead penguins and tons of penguin poo,” said Mr Barton. He recalled that the scenery and the penguin colony were beautiful, but that, like all penguin colonies, it “absolutely stank”. “It smells like a combination of rotting fish and the sea,” he explained. “But you kind of get used to it on the first day.”

King Penguin Chicks on South Georgia Island

A Personal Perspective of Penguins in South Georgia

Posing for their close-ups, these are the penguins who live on the remote island of South Georgia in the South Atlantic. And while pictures of the inhabitants of Britain’s most outlying colony are common – these are possibly the most stunning ever taken. British photographer, Nick Garbutt, became very friendly with his subjects after travelling to witness the massive colony, made up of around a quarter of a million birds. In one image, taken in natural harbour Salisbury Plain, he can be seen directly in front of two king penguins.

In others, they troop to the shore and back to feed their hungry offsprint, while one pair put on a spectacular display of courtship – almost creating a mirror image of each other.The king penguins are shown to be intimate creatures, and greet each other by rubbing their stomachs together and arching their beautiful gold crested necks.

Garbutt, from Cumbria, took a three week voyage on a ship called the Vavilov.  He sailed from Ushuaia in Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego, to the Falklands and from there to the remote island. The voyage also took him to the Yalour Islands and Peterman Island off the Antarctic Peninsula.’There was curiosity on both sides,’ said Nick.

‘I also felt exhilaration from being surrounded by the sounds, smells and sight of such a large mass of birds. ‘It was a really immersive experience.’ Nick was able to take the amazingly intimate shots through careful observation and physical rigour. ‘Birds were constantly moving between the colony and the sea with different individuals and groups were going back and forth. ‘Often when one sets off, others seem to follow and they trudge the same paths as previous birds. ‘Every so often little lines of penguins form as they plod down to the water’s edge. I watched this for a while with several groups, then inched my way in on my belly towards the line they were walking. ‘I was able to approach to within a metre and the penguins just walked by.

‘Sometimes they’d be inquisitive and look at me and occasionally even look at their reflection in the wide-angle lens. ‘It was quite overwhelming to be surrounded by all these birds that were also so bold and confiding as subjects. Nick was also struck by the lonely beauty of the South Georgian landscape – an emerald wilderness thousands of miles away from motherland Britain. ‘The island wildness left me feeling insignificant,’ said Nick. ‘As if I was standing on the edge of existence.’ King Penguin colonies are present all year-round on South Georgia. During winter months the penguins have the beaches to themselves. From early spring, which falls in November, they share the beaches with huge colonies of elephant seals. There are several king penguin colonies on South Georgia. Salisbury Plain is second largest colony on the islands, with over 250,000 birds in total. South Georgia is a British Dependent Island administered from the Falklands.

Headless Penguins?

There are times when we would all like to literally hide our heads for one reason or another. But, the Penguin Post has learned our impossible dream is a daily reality for these two King Penguins on the South Atlantic island of South Georgia.

Thanks to their double-jointed necks, the ‘headless’ pair can merrily go about their business with optional heads on or heads off so to speak.

When a penguin needs a scratch or two on some hard to reach part of his body, he simply bends his head completely over and attacks the area that is that needs a scratch with his beak. Such dexterity guarantees there is no such thing as a ‘hard-to-reach spot’… and most importantly for us makes for an amusing natural image. The King Penguin is the second largest species of penguin, second only to the Emperor Penguin.

Mainly found in the South Atlantic and the northernmost waters of the northern Antarctic, there are believed to be around 2.23million King Penguins and their numbers are increasing.

All Black Penguin Discovered!

A Very rare all black king penguin poses for a picture.

King Penguins are notorious for their prim, tuxedoed appearance–but a recently discovered all-black penguin seems unafraid to defy convention. In what has been described as a “one in a zillion kind of mutation,” biologists say that the animal has lost control of it’s pigmentation, an occurrence that is extremely rare. Other than the penguin’s monochromatic outfit, the animal appears to be perfectly healthy–and then some. “Look at the size of those legs,” said one scientist, “It’s an absolute monster.”

The underdressed penguin was photographed by Andrew Evans of National Geographic on the island of South Georgia, near Antarctica. As the picture circulated, some biologists were taken aback–including Dr. Allan Baker of the University of Toronto. His first response was disbelief:  Wow. That looks so bizarre I can’t even believe it. Wow.

While multi-colored birds will often show some variation, Dr. Baker explains that what makes the all-black King Penguin so rare is that the bird’s melanin deposits have occurred where they are typically not present–enough so that no light feathers even checker the bird’s normally white chest.

Andrew Evans:

Melanism is merely the dark pigmentation of skin, fur–or in this case, feathers. The unique trait derives from increased melanin in the body. Genes may play a role, but so might other factors. While melanism is common in many different animal species (e.g. Washington, D.C. is famous for its melanistic squirrels), the trait is extremely rare in penguins. All-black penguins are so rare there is practically no research on the subject–biologists guess that perhaps one in every quarter million of penguins shows evidence of at least partial melanism, whereas the penguin we saw appears to be almost entirely (if not entirely) melanistic.

Whether or not the all-black look catches on in the penguin fashion world, it’s nice to see someone dressing-down for once.

Central Park Zoo Debuts 4 New King Penguins

They are the new kings of New York!
The Central Park Zoo unveiled its renovated Polar Seabirds exhibit Wednesday  – and introduced four new King penguins.
Slappy, Lyle, Will and Robert, who waddle in that order, stood majestically on the rocks of their new home.
The gang of four were unfazed by their neighbors – dozens of Chinstrap and Gentoo penguins.
“You don’t really know what’s going to happen and we were set for anything,” zoo director Jeff Sailer said of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s decision to add the King penguins to the exhibit.
“But it was kind of anti-climactic. The Gentoos came up and formed a little circle around them. Then they walked away.”
At 30 inches, the Kings tower over the other penguins.
Slappy is the largest at 36 pounds. He eats more than  100 capelins a day.
“He is definitely the leader,” Sailer said. “The other day they were walking, he stopped short and they all ran into him.”
If all goes well, the Wildlife Conservation Society will start hunting for some lady penguins to join them.
“First, let’s see how they do,” Sailer said. “They are a little young.”
Meanwhile, the rest of the penguin crowd is gearing up for an active -  and noisy – breeding season.
“They are checking each other out and pairing up,” Sailer said, as he watched the penguins eyeball each other and squawk.
“It gets so loud in here, it’s almost unbearable,” he said with a laugh.

BY LISA L. COLANGELO  (N.Y. Daily News)