PETA Not Happy With Penguins At NY Stock Exchange

The Penguin Post has learned that PETA and other groups are none too happy that penguins were brought in by Seaworld to waddle on the floor of the NY stock exchange. A spokesman for PETA, which stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said that the group purchased 80 shares in SeaWorld for more than $2,200 in last week’s IPO.

PETA officials believe this will allow them to attend shareholder meetings and introduce resolutions. It has previously battled the theme park company over breeding programmes at its sites in Florida, California and Texas. It is also calling for SeaWorld to release all the whales and dolphins it holds.

It has also emerged that PETA has written a letter to the New York Stock Exchange urging it to ban the use of exotic animals for promotional purposes. It comes after SeaWorld took penguins to Wall Street, where representatives rang the bell to start trading in their shares on Friday.

“It’s very stressful for exotic animals – who have specialized needs and are greatly affected by environmental changes – to be hauled around by companies like SeaWorld, just to be used as props,” Dan Mathews, senior vice-president at PETA, said in the letter. “Penguins, like all wild animals, shun contact with humans. Being forced into close public contact leaves them agitated and frightened.”

“Animals in captivity are already susceptible to illness, but putting them in a crowded, noisy environment just causes additional stress and increased potential for poor health. The New York Stock Exchange, as a respected institution, should not be condoning any display that involves transporting an animal from one location to another and using them as a photo prop.”

Penguins In Baseball

The Penguin Post has learned that a penguin visited the clubhouse office of the Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon.   Maddon tweeted : Today’s VIP guests are…penguins! Maddon: “I wanted the players to chill out a little bit. …get it?”

Historic Penguin Photo’s

Here’s a great link to some very historic penguin photo’s as it’s the 100 anniversary of the first professional photographs of penguins.  Click on this link and enjoy.

40 Years Ago – Fleetwood Mac Releases “Penguin”

In 1973 Fleetwood Mac was a band trying to re-invent themselves and with the release of “Penguin” they did just that.  The rest is rock ‘n roll history and the penguin has been Fleetwood Mac’s mascot every since.

World Penguin Day Is Coming

Of course everyday is Penguin Day at Penguin Place, but this year we thought we’d actually give you a heads up that World Penguin Day is on the way so you can prepare.   Each year we officially celebrate two penguin holidays (Chilly Willy’s birthday not withstanding).  January 20th is Penguin Awareness Day, which is a day to celebrate penguins and what they mean to us. But, for me the biggie is World Penguin Day on April 25th, because it marks an actual specific event for penguins.  Read all about it here and all the fun things you can do for this waddling cool day.

Penguin Named By 1st Graders

The Penguin Post has learned that a group of children in the first grade on a field trip in Syracuse N.Y. got to name a baby — a baby Humboldt penguin, that is.  There were many “oohs” and “aahs” when the Humboldt penguin chick was revealed at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse.  The visiting first-graders decided to name her Magdelena.  The children chose the name from three options, each representing the penguin’s Latin-American origins.  Magdelena is the first Humboldt penguin chick to hatch at the upstate New York zoo this year.

Walk Like A Penguin

The Penguin Post has noticed that recently various municipalities around the country have offered advice to their citizens to “walk like a penguin” for safety’s sake in this winter’s ice and snow.  Be it to and from parking lots, on an icy street, between buildings, or anywhere else slick and outdoors to avoid slipping and falling.  This week in the mid-west, after being belted with two near record snowstorms the Emergency Services physicians at Providence Medical Center and Saint John Hospital in Kansas City have offer the following waddling safety tips to keep in mind:  Use special care when entering and exiting vehicles; assume all wet, dark areas on pavements are slick.  Walk in designated walkways as much as possible. Taking shortcuts over snow piles and other frozen areas can be hazardous (unless you are actually a penguin). Look ahead when you walk. During bad weather, avoid boots or shoes with smooth soles and heels. Instead, wear shoes or boots that provide traction on snow and ice.  Point your feet out slightly like a penguin! Spreading your toes (webbed or otherwise) out slightly while walking on ice increases your center of gravity. Bend slightly and walk flat-footed with your center of gravity over your feet (like the penguins pictured below).  Extend your arms (flippers) out to your sides to maintain balance.  Keep your hands out of your pockets! Hands in pockets while walking decreases your center of gravity and balance (besides penguins don’t have pockets).  Take short steps or shuffle for stability (very penguin-like).  If you fall; try to avoid landing on your knees, wrists, or spine.  Try and keep both feet on the ground as you exit and enter your parked vehicle, and if possible keep waddling.

For safety’s sake walk like a penguin

World’s Oldest Penguin

The Penguin Post has learned that the skull of a 65-million-year-old penguin which spent the last decade wrapped in of all places a newspaper in a Christchurch, New Zealand garage could unlock the secrets of the bird’s evolution. Canterbury Museum scientists are analyzing the new fossil of Waimanu manneringi, named after the Christchurch amateur fossil hunter who was the first to find bones from the world’s oldest penguin. Al Mannering, who first found fossils of the bird at the Waipara River in 1997, made the new find in 2003 but did not realize its significance until preparing it late last year. ”I wrapped it in newspaper and left it in my garage for 10 years, then last year I thought, ‘I’d better have a go at that’. ”Once I realized what it was, I emailed [the museum] straight away.” Canterbury Museum senior curator Paul Scofield said the fossil, from the Paleocene era, was in ”exceptional” condition. ”On a worldwide basis, it would be as good as fossils of this age get.” Scofield said the penguin skull was one of the most important parts of the body for paleontologists, providing valuable hints about the bird’s history and its connection to other penguins. Museum scientists would compare the skull with those of thousands of other penguins to develop a ”family tree” and determine how the bird related to both modern penguins and the dinosaurs. The researchers would also do a CT scan of the skull at Christchurch Hospital, allowing them to reconstruct its brain and outline its abilities and lifestyle. ”As birds become specialists in flight or diving, it changes the way their brain works: now we can start to make guesses at how these animals actually lived,” Scofield said. The museum would work with American scientists from the University of Texas who had found similar fossils in South America, which had recently separated from New Zealand at the age the fossils dated back to. ”It’s a really sexy field in paleontology, because penguins were one of the earliest bird groups to evolve.” Scofield said the Paleocene era was ”absolutely crucial” to scientific understanding of modern birds and mammals, due to dramatic change which occurred during the period. ”As soon as we became free of dinosaurs, evolution went crazy,” he said.

Amateur fossil hunter Al Mannering, who discovered the skull of the world’s oldest penguin, left, which is shown compared with a modern penguin.

SeaWorld To Open New Penguin Exhibit in May

SeaWorld Orlando’s chilling new attraction, Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin, will open May 24, the park announced Tuesday. Empire of the Penguin, which SeaWorld says will be the coldest theme park attraction in the world, will be both a ride and an encounter with penguins in their habitat, where the temperature must be kept in the low 30s.

Rescued Penguins Go Home

The Penguin Post has learned that penguins rescued from Napier’s Inner Harbor in New Zealand after a diesel spill earlier this month have been returned to their habitat.  The Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s oil spill response team rescued the penguins after they were found covered in diesel fuel following the spill incident from a moored fishing boat on 7 September.  The three penguins were transferred to Massey University’s National Oiled Wildlife facility in Palmerston North for rehabilitation. The birds were cleaned and cared for at the facility and have since been swimming 2-3 times each day as part of the process to restore waterproofing to their feathers. The length of swims has increased each day. The test for release is swimming for six hours without getting wet feathers. All three birds passed this test on Monday. The penguins were transported from Massey University’s facility this morning, before being released back into Napier’s Inner Harbor. HBRC’s Incident Controller Bryce Lawrence says the penguins went straight to their burrows and the team is pleased to see the birds going home. “It is always good to see wildlife returned to their habitat. It was unfortunate that we had three oiled penguins but, given the conditions of this spill, we were fortunate that we could respond quickly and collect the diesel, and minimize the impact on the penguin population in the Inner Harbour,” said Mr Lawrence. Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s Enforcement Team is still investigating the exact cause of the spill to determine whether enforcement action is appropriate.