Penguin Poops On Kentucky Senate Floor

Even on vacation in Florida penguin news reaches us as the Penguin Post has learned that a penguin named Paula from the Newport Aquarium pooped on the Kentucky state Senate floor in Frankfort on Tuesday. The African blackfooted penguin had been brought to the chamber Tuesday by Senate President Pro Tem Katie Stine, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. The Southgate Republican was presenting her resolution to honor the Newport Aquarium for its stewardship of sea life and penguins when Senate President David Williams told her the bird had “just defecated on the floor.” With that business accomplished, Ric Urban curator of birds and mammals at the aquarium, placed Paula on the upper part of Williams’ desk while Stine finished presenting her resolution. Urban also took Paula to meet Gov. Steve Beshear, who tweeted the photo here with this caption: “Perhaps 1st time a penguin has been to KY Capitol? Today got a visit from Paula, penguin from the Newport Aquarium”  Fortunately, Paula controlled herself during her meeting with the Governor.

Gov. Steve Beshear greets Paula the Penguin from the Newport Aquarium, and Ric Urban, curator of birds and mammals, at the capitol in Frankfort Tuesday . Paula created a stir when she pooped on the Senate floor during an appearance before state legislators. / Provided

Penguin Picture Of The Day

Penguin Picture of the day comes to us from the Newport Aquarium’s Penguin Encounter.

 

True Story Of A Juvenile Penguin Heist.

The following is a hilarious e-mail I received from a customer this morning by the Penguin Post.

This is a true story – it happened to a friend of a friend!  A first grade class here locally (we are directly across the river from Louisville, KY) went to the Newport Aquarium.  One Mom signed up too late to reserve a spot on the bus, so she drove behind the bus carrying the children.  On the trip home (about a 2 hour drive) she got a call from one of the teachers on the bus asking if she had her son with her?  The mother did not – she was in a panic!  She calls the aquarium from her cell, sure enough, her little boy is in the office.  She turns around to go get him.  When she gets there, the child is wet.  The mother realizes that obviously it scared him so badly to realize he was left behind and lost that he wet his pants – he’s only six.  She gets him in the car, and he is so embarrassed that he clutches his backpack in his lap and doesn’t say a word on the ride home.  This kid is obviously traumatized!  They get home, and he just want to go to his room.  She tells him to go ahead upstairs, take off his wet clothes and get a bath.  She goes up a few minutes later to check on him, he is sitting on his bed in his wet clothes.  She is starting to really worry and fear that something traumatic happened to this kid.  She tells him he needs a bath and he refuses.  Again, her worry mounts.  She finally tells him that he needs to get in there and get a bath!  He refuses – so she goes in to start the water.  Much to her surprise, what does she find in the bathtub???  A baby penguin!!!!  This kid slipped behind the glass at the aquarium and stole a baby penguin!  It was in his backpack – that is why he was wet and why he held on to the backpack for dear life on the way home!!!!  She calls the aquarium and tells them.  They THREATEN to sue her for stealing a penguin!!!  She tells them that she is calling so that they can have an employee wait for her because she is bringing this thing right  back!

Long story short, she gets it back and does not get sued, but I just found that hilarious!  A friend of mine is a first grade teacher and this happened to a kid in her friend’s first grade class!  How is THAT for a penguin story!!  AND it’s true!

Eric, you are aces – thanks for making me laugh so hard this morning!!!!

Kentucky Penguin Chicks Hatch!

The Penguin Place Post has learned that more penguins will soon be visible at the Newport Aquarium’s Kroger Kingdom of Penguins in Newport, Kentucky.  The aquarium announced Monday the recent hatching of three Gentoo penguin chicks. Hatched between Dec. 31 and Jan. 5, the chicks weighed between 80-100 grams at birth. Two of the chicks were hatched from the same parents, a first for the aquarium. As days pass, the chicks will begin to slowly venture away from their nests and be visible in the Kroger Kingdom of Penguins exhibit, though not far from their parents. For now, the young chicks mostly stay nestled under their penguin parents. The new additions will bring the number of Gentoo, King and Chinstrap penguins at the exhibit to 31.

Aquarium Penguins Welcome Milestone Visitor

NEWPORT, Ky. — The Newport Aquarium is ready to welcome its 20,000th guest to the behind-the-scenes Penguin Encounter program.

Penguin Encounters is a 20-minute “all access” pass into the African penguin habitat at the aquarium. Guests are allowed to touch the penguins and see them up-close and personal. Each encounter is hosted by an aquarium biologist who leads the experience, educates the visitors, and provides insight into the unique world of penguins.

“When you enter the penguins’ habitat, you are a guest in their world,” said Ric Urban, curator of birds and mammals for Newport Aquarium. “It makes for a perfect educational opportunity to highlight this amazing animal and explain why their conservation is so important.”

Penguin Encounters have been offered at Newport Aquarium since April 2007.

Newport Aquarium donates 15 percent of each Penguin Encounter ticket sale to penguin conservation. Much of the support goes to the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB), an internationally recognized organization for the rehabilitation of coastal birds exposed to pollution and natural disasters.

King Penguins at the Newport Aquarium