More random thoughts about bartending
9 years ago
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
The Story behind THAT Penguin Footage
30 October 2009
The Story behind THAT Penguin Footage
Emperor Penguins in Antarctica.NHNZ veteran cameraman Max Quinn left New Zealand in 1991 to make The Emperors of Antarctica and The Longest Night as part of a series on Antarctica. With only one crew member, (soundman Donald Anderson) Max filmed, directed and produced both films. The men were required to winter over at Scott Base for a continuous period of 11 months.
The Emperors of Antarctica focussed on the lives of emperor penguins living in Antarctica. Most of the footage of penguins was shot at Cape Crozier approximately 85km (or a treacherous seven hours) northeast of Scott base.
Wintering in Antarctica to film the birds was fraught with challenge and danger including extreme cold, darkness, blizzards and crevasses. Despite having all the necessary cold weather gear, the men endured long periods filming on the ice where they experienced temperatures of -25 to -55 degrees Celsius.
The Antarctic is an incredibly dangerous place to film. In addition to the challenge of isolation, the determined duo also had to struggle with constant darkness from the end of April through to August.
At the end of March 1991, Don and Max were filming on sea ice on McMurdo Sound where a group of 40 penguins had gathered by a smallish hole in the sea ice. With temperatures dropping Max knew the group had a small window of opportunity to feed before the sea was completely frozen.
Here's his account of what happened next...
"I started to film when I saw one of the penguins moving towards the thinner ice covering their ice hole. This penguin stepped off the thick ice on to the thinner ice then walked a few steps before falling face first into an ice pool. Immediately a number of other penguins followed into the ice pool helping to break up the thin ice and thus keeping their feeding hole open for longer. I kept the camera rolling and immediately knew I was on to something special".
He was right.
Max had captured a key behavioural moment in the life of these penguins. The clip immortalises a deliberate behaviour that had never been previously filmed, with this unique footage showing the fattening process the penguins go through before their food source is completely shut off for winter.
The result is also a comical clip that has delighted viewers around the globe for over a decade. It has since been added to by would-be CGI artists who now have the penguin bring tripped and even slapped over the head before it falls.
The clip has also been the source of legal action after a company plagiarised the footage and on-sold it without NHNZ's permission and, more recently, has become one of You Tube's most popular clips.
More than being in the right place at the right time, the world-renowned "Penguin Falling Through Ice" clip is testimony to the skills, knowledge and expertise of the people involved in bringing it to the world's attention.
This penguin clip forms part of the NHNZ documentary "Emperors of Antarctica", which can be viewed online at NZ On Screen.
Source:
http://nhnzimages-news.blogspot.com/2009/10/story-behind-that-penguin-footage.html
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Protect penguins? Protect krill
To protect penguins, protect krill -marine experts
By Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - To protect penguins on the rapidly warming Antarctic peninsula, regulators need to ensure the survival of shrimp-like krill, the base of the food chain at the bottom of the world, marine experts said on Wednesday.
Whales and seals also depend on krill for food, the experts said in a telephone news briefing.
The numbers of Chinstrap and Adelie penguins are declining steeply along the Antarctic peninsula, the part of the southern continent that stretches northward toward South America.
This is the most dramatically warming place on the planet and a location where huge miles-wide swarms of krill historically congregated, according to Wayne Trivelpiece, a penguin expert at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Krill need winter ice to survive but because of rising temperatures on the peninsula and in the waters that surround it, the area is ice-free for about four months each year, Trivelpiece said. Probably as a result, he said, winter stocks of krill have declined 80 percent in the past 20 years.
Prized as a component of fish food and nutritional supplements for people, krill are commercially harvested by factory trawlers, and the annual catch of this species rose in 2008 to 150,000 tons, from about 100,000 tons in 2007, according to the Pew Environmental Group.
To protect krill and the Antarctic sea creatures that depend on them, the Pew Environmental Group urged regulators now meeting in Tasmania to require fishing vessels to spread out geographically and over time in the southern ocean.
"This would prevent the concentration of the fisher from significantly reducing the amount of krill available for key predators, including whales, penguins and seals," the group said in a statement.
The Antarctic krill fishery is regulated by the Commission of the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, a group of 25 countries now meeting in Hobart, Tasmania.
The commission already has recognized that the current catch limits will not protect krill or its marine animal predators because the limits cover large swaths of ocean and do little to guard against concentrated krill fishing in small areas, the Pew statement said.
Source:
http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE59R4RB20091028
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Orphan penguin becomes a dad
Bert the penguin
Orphan penguin becomes a dad
ADAM GRETTON
27 October 2009
Keepers at a Norfolk zoo have become proud foster grandparents after one of their hand-reared animals became a dad for the first time.
Bert, the African penguin, had a lucky escape after staff at Banham Zoo intervened in 2006 to stop his egg being crushed by a dispute between two pairs of penguins.
The baby, who was saved just before his nest site was waterlogged by heavy rains, was raised by keepers and has become a popular resident at the south Norfolk tourist attraction.
Managers at the zoo, near Attleborough, spoke of their delight after the three-year-old helped father the first arrival of the year amongst its 17-strong African penguin colony.
Bert's chick, who has not yet been named, was born in August and is expected to leave its burrow any day soon.
Mike Woolham, animal manager at Banham Zoo, said the news of the hatchling was greeted with “more excitement than usual” amongst the keepers because of the father.
“He is a little bit special. We try to avoid an animal imprinting on us when we hand-rear them, but you cannot help get close to them when you spend that much time with them and Bert is tamer than most,” he said.
Mr Woolham added that Bert was proving to be an excellent father by feeding his partner and child and protecting the burrow from other penguins.
“Sometimes hand-reared animals do not make the best of parents because they sometimes imprint on humans. But Bert realises the fact he is a penguin and has successfully paired up and is doing all the things a penguin should,” he said.
Source:
http://www.lowestoftjournal.co.uk/content/lowestoftjournal/news/story.aspx?brand=LOWOnline&category=NEWS&tBrand=lowonline&tCategory=news&itemid=NOED26%20Oct%202009%2020%3A43%3A51%3A367
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Image of the Day
Adelie Penguin passing by the Emperor Penguin colony.
Eckstroem Ice-shelf, 70˚36' S 8˚08'W
Eckstroem Ice-shelf, 70˚36' S 8˚08'W
Monday, October 26, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Looking at African Penguins
Revealing look at African penguins
FOX25 Morning News
Wednesday, 21 Oct 2009, 9:18 AM EDT
FOX25, myfoxboston - They're lovable, quirky and a tad strange. Everyone loves penguins, and as we learn more about them, we're starting to understand how resilient the species really is.
In the new documentary, “On the Wings of Penguins,” executive producer Robert Kline takes a fascinating look at the South African penguin and its survival.
Source:
http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/morning/revealing_look_at_african_penguins_102109
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Good Story of a Penguin Keeper's Job
Joshua McKerrow — The Capital Penguin keeper Bethany Wlaz of Eastport feeds her hungry charges at The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. Wlaz is one of three full-time penguin keepers at the zoo, and it isn’t hard to tell she loves her work. The African penguins get fed twice a day — at 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.Eastport resident works with zoo's penguins
By THERESA WINSLOW, Staff Writer
Published 10/18/09
Bethany Wlaz has the best seat in the house for a gripping soap opera filled with lust, envy and intrigue.
Every day, the Eastport resident walks up a long tunnel to take in the action of "The Young and the Flightless."
It's her nickname for the interesting goings-on among the 43 African penguins on Rock Island at The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, which according to officials is the largest colony of that type of penguin in North America.
"There's a lot of drama down here," quipped Wlaz, 26, clad in green T-shirt, gloves, khaki pants and big black rubber boots.
The soap opera cast is made up of characters like Wheezy, Beaker, Honkers, Oreo, Pudge and Shorty - and the "performers" vie for attention among themselves and from
Wlaz and the two other full-time keepers who care for them.
Wlaz has had the job for two years, and it's obvious from the second she enters the exhibit that she has a boundless love for the work and her feathered, 18-inch-tall friends.
"Are you loving this?" she asks Wheezy, a 3-year-old female, as she strokes her belly. "You're a goooood girl. She really wants to be a movie star, I think."
As if on cue, Wheezy, who will answer to her name when called, then strikes pose after pose for the camera, each one cuter than the one before. (Wheezy got her name because she has a deformed trachea and some breathing problems.)
Wheezy is silent as Wlaz spends quality time with her, but the penguins are capable of making quite a lot of noise, like when they're squabbling over mates or living arrangements. They're sometimes called jackass penguins because of the braying sound they make.
Wheezy is among the friendliest members of the colony. Some aren't as sociable, and Wlaz points out that the penguins are capable of hurting the keepers with a snap of their powerful beaks or a slap of their wings. This hasn't deterred her in the least, however.
"I love them all," she said with a smile. "It's bad."
Wlaz jokes that she has a lot of pets: three fish and two cats at home - and the zoo's 40-plus penguins.
Not surprisingly, it's especially hard on her when a penguin dies or is transferred to another facility. "We ship out a lot of birds. It's tough to say goodbye," Wlaz said.
Her job is a lot of work, with the main tasks of feeding and cleaning, cleaning and feeding. The routine is time-consuming, and when it's coupled with her hour-long commute each way, it makes for a long day.
The hours get even longer if she has to make a special trip back to the zoo late at night or very early in the morning to give a sick penguin medicine, for example.
Wlaz also serves as vice president of GBAAZK, the Greater Baltimore chapter of the American Association of Zookeepers, and holds down a part-time job, so her leisure time is especially limited.
"I don't have a lot of free time and I get stressed out sometimes," she admitted. "But at the same time, I'm doing what I want to do."
Her favorite time with the penguins is when she first comes into work in the morning and can bond with the birds before the zoo officially opens. This isn't to say Wlaz isn't good with the public, because she shines at that part of her job, too, zoo officials said.
"I love having her down here," said area supervisor Jennifer Mignone.
Wlaz, she added, is outgoing, smart, responsible and willing to take on new projects.
"Bethany is very passionate about her job," said Mike McClure, general curator at the zoo. "But Beth also possesses a good capacity to talk to people. ... Many people drawn to the profession are good at it, but not all are good at drawing others into it."
Consuming work
The penguins, which are fed daily at 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., dine on a mix of herring, capelin and squid. The first two are the favorites, with the squid pulling up the rear. Wlaz jokes that dining on squid is the penguin equivalent of eating their vegetables.
Everything the penguins consume (they can have as much as they want) is meticulously recorded so zoo officials have a record of their eating habits. The penguins all have a tricolored band on one of their wings that corresponds to a number, which is how the information is logged.
Some of the feeding is done outside near the moat, and the rest is done in the interior nesting room, which is filled with travel kennels. All of the penguins take the fish or squid right from the hand of Wlaz.
"It really takes a level of trust with these birds," she explained. "They have to be down here six months before they learn to feed."
Wlaz often tells her friends about the goings-on in the colony, and they said it's not too tough to pick up on her devotion to the penguins.
"Everybody that knows her asks about the penguins, and she loves talking about them," said her friend, Krista Burich of Annapolis. "I'm so happy for her; working at the zoo was one of her dream jobs."
But it's a recent dream.
Although Wlaz has always liked animals and spent weekends of her teen years on a Pennsylvania farm, she didn't know what she was going to do for a career after college. She has a degree in geography.
So, Wlaz followed her family to Annapolis after graduation and took a job waitressing. In fact, she still waitresses two days a week at Federal House downtown. It helps pay the bills, she said.
"You do this job for the love of it, not for the money," Wlaz said of working with the penguins.
But the keeper's position does come with a certain cache of coolness.
"You know, it's one of those jobs I think we all wish we could have," said Jeremy Black, owner of Federal House.
Wlaz waitressed full time for a couple years after college - starting before Black bought the restaurant, which was then called Griffin's - and then took a trip that changed her life. She used the money she'd saved and traveled to Africa, where she volunteered with a group that works to preserve cheetah habitats in Namibia.
"It was just something I always wanted to do," she said. "When I got home, something clicked. (I knew) this is what I want to do, work with animals."
Next, Wlaz interned with a sanctuary for big cats in Florida. When that ended, she returned home and put in an application to the zoo.
Wlaz landed a part-time position in the zoo's hospital, where she stayed for four months until the penguin keeper's position opened.
"I'd helped out (there) a couple times and it blew me away," she said. "Now, I'm addicted. I'm a bird person. I couldn't be in an office. It wouldn't last for me."
For more information on The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, call 410-366-LION, or visit the Web site at www.marylandzoo.org.
Source:
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/news/top/2009/10/18-15/Eastport-resident-works-with-zoos-penguins.html
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Penguin Chick at Rosamond Zoo Gets a Name
Bridgeport teen names Rosamond Gifford Zoo penguin Marisol
By Charley Hannagan / The Post-Standard
October 15, 2009, 10:09AM
Syracuse, NY-- The new penguin chick at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo has a name, and a parent.
The chick will be called Marisol, a name submitted by Ashley Redhead, 15, of Bridgeport. Zoo officials this morning named Redhead the winner of its Penguin Chick Naming Contest.
As the winner, she receives a VIP tour of the penguin facilities and will be Marisol's adoptive parent for a year.
Marisol is a Spanish name loosely translated as "sunny sea," the zoo said.
“I thought it would be cute because we can always use sun in Syracuse,” Redhead said in a news release.
The contest received 379 suggestions, which were narrowed to six finalists by the judges. The names were: Alita, Chica, Marisol, Nena Pingüina, Pepita and Plumita.
After two weeks of voting, Marisol rose to the top with 27 percent of the 729 votes.
Source:
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/bridgeport_teen_wins_rosamond.html
By Charley Hannagan / The Post-Standard
October 15, 2009, 10:09AM
| New Penguin Chick at Rosamond Gifford Zoo |
Syracuse, NY-- The new penguin chick at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo has a name, and a parent.
The chick will be called Marisol, a name submitted by Ashley Redhead, 15, of Bridgeport. Zoo officials this morning named Redhead the winner of its Penguin Chick Naming Contest.
As the winner, she receives a VIP tour of the penguin facilities and will be Marisol's adoptive parent for a year.
Marisol is a Spanish name loosely translated as "sunny sea," the zoo said.
“I thought it would be cute because we can always use sun in Syracuse,” Redhead said in a news release.
The contest received 379 suggestions, which were narrowed to six finalists by the judges. The names were: Alita, Chica, Marisol, Nena Pingüina, Pepita and Plumita.
After two weeks of voting, Marisol rose to the top with 27 percent of the 729 votes.
Source:
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/bridgeport_teen_wins_rosamond.html
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Image of the Day
Adelie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) has three methods of getting from Point A to Point B: swimming, walking and sliding.
Protections for endangered penguins still pending
Southern Rockhopper Penguin (Wikipedia)Oct 14, 2009 02:18 PM in Environment
Protections for endangered penguins still pending
By John Platt
There are no wild penguins in the U.S. But many penguin species worldwide are in danger—some dramatically—and all populations are dropping fast. What to do, what to do?
Last December, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) proposed protecting seven penguin species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Six of the species would be declared "threatened," whereas the seventh, the African penguin (Spheniscus demersus), would be listed as "endangered." The action followed a lawsuit, and resulting court order, to review the penguins' need for protection.
That proposal is still pending (under the law, the FWS has a year to act on its proposals), but meanwhile the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) has announced plans to file another lawsuit to protect three penguin species not covered in the December proposal.
The first of the three species, the emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri), is the world's largest and most ice-dependant penguin species; it has seen population drops of nearly 50 percent since the 1970s. Like most of its cousins, the emperor faces declining food supplies throughout its habitat. FWS turned down a previous request to protect the emperor, saying it believed populations were stable and that current science did not support climate models predicting further habitat loss. (It's important to note that this decision came down under the Bush administration, which one week earlier had made it very clear that the ESA would not be used to regulate climate change.)
The other two species, the northern and southern rockhopper penguin (Eudyptes moseleyi and E. chrysocome), actually had been recognized in the FWS's December proposal, but only for a few populations of the southern species. "The southern rockhopper penguin in certain areas of the species range were stable and increasing, so listing was not warranted," says FWS public affairs specialist Tamara Ward. The CBD disagrees: "FWS proposed to list [the rockhopper] in only part of its range, ignoring large declines elsewhere," says Kassie Siegel, senior counsel at the CBD.
Why protect penguins under the ESA if they don't live in the U.S. or its territories? "Listing of penguins under the ESA would make import or export of the species illegal without an ESA permit," Ward says. "Such permits are issued only if an activity has a conservation benefit and it is hoped listing may help focus international attention on the species conservation needs." In addition, according to the CBD, listing would also require federal agencies to ensure that any action carried out, authorized or funded by the U.S. government would not jeopardize the continued existence of the protected species.
Source:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=protections-for-endangered-penguins-2009-10-14
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Just in time for Hallowe'en
Instructions for making your own spooky penguin here:
http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2009/10/pumpkin_penguin.html
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Image of the Day
A South Polar Skua landing between Emperor Penguins. They prey on eggs and small chicks but these chicks are already big enough to be save.
Eckstroem Ice-shelf, 70˚36' S 8˚08'W
Eckstroem Ice-shelf, 70˚36' S 8˚08'W
Go Penguins goes live in Liverpool
Go Penguins goes live in Liverpool on November 22
Oct 9 2009 by Catherine Jones, Liverpool Echo
PENGUINS will appear on the streets of Liverpool on November 22, the ECHO can reveal today.
More than 200 of the flightless birds will be installed in “colonies” across the city and beyond in the giant public art event.
Go Penguins is already almost double the size of the Go Superlambananas project which was one of the soaraway successes of Capital of Culture year.
So far 115 artists have been commissioned to create unique designs on the giant 5ft fibreglass penguins, while 93 schools – 86 primary and seven secondary – have also signed up to take part, making it the biggest schools’ art project in the UK this year.
Sally Ann Wilkinson, director of Wild in Art which was commissioned to create the penguin festival by Liverpool city council, said: “It’s fantastic to see everyone in the city coming together to work on Go Penguins.
“To have reached the level of support we have this far in advance of the launch is nothing short of brilliant. It’s bowled me over and it’s all down to the generosity of the people of Liverpool – sponsors, schools, artists and community groups.”
Colonies of 3ft school penguins will be installed in inside venues including St Johns Shopping Centre, Lewis’s, the Walker Art Gallery and the Metquarter.
Meanwhile 20 giant penguins will be decorated by community groups in the five council “neighbourhoods”, and there will be penguins in Wirral and St Helens.
A trail map will be available and a number of the models will be auctioned off for the Lord Mayor’s charities at the end of the event in January.
Council leader Warren Bradley said: “Go Penguin is really going to make a difference this Christmas.
“Everyone was looking to the city to see how we’d react to post-Capital of Culture.
“For Go Penguins to dwarf the involvement of Go Superlambananas says everything we need to know about Liverpool’s appetite for culture.”
Anyone who is interested in becoming a Go Penguins sponsor or wants more information should go to www.gopenguins.co.uk
Source:
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2009/10/09/go-penguins-goes-live-in-liverpool-on-november-22-100252-24888025/
Penguin health principal issue
Penguin health principal issue
By David Bruce on Sat, 10 Oct 2009
Moeraki | The Regions: North Otago
"I wish the penguins would do what I tell them - stay away from sharks, breed faster and look after themselves," she said.
Mrs Goldsworthy owns and lives in the Moeraki lighthouse and home and is manager of the Katiki Point Penguin Charitable Trust, which won the supreme award in the annual TrustPower Waihemo community awards.
The trust looks after penguins, especially yellow-eyed penguins, on habitat along the Moeraki Peninsula.
The trust was established by Janice and Bob Jones in 2001 and is chaired by Walter Kiener, of Moeraki.
It has been highly successful, which she puts down to the strength of its volunteer organisation.
About 15 volunteers are involved on a regular basis, but are helped by overseas visitors who come and stay at the lighthouse and help care for the penguins.
The secondary school she was at had a wild bird colony and, over a period of eight years, cared for more than 4000 birds.
She was experienced in caring for birds and heard from a friend who had visited the Moeraki Lighthouse colony that Mrs Jones wanted to retire from her role.
The job of caring for the penguins' habitat and the birds themselves passed to her.
The TrustPower award recognises the work of the trust and particularly its volunteers.
It costs about $15,000 a year to run the trust, the bulk of funds coming from donations from visitors and sponsorship from businesses.
The penguins attract about 20,000 international and national visitors a year.
The area now provides a safe haven for more than 70% of North Otago's yellow-eyed penguins.
Last financial year, 93 sick and injured penguins were cared for in the hospital at the Moeraki lighthouse, 90% of those making a full recovery.
Of the 93 penguins in care, 89 were yellow-eyed penguins.
There was one white-flippered penguin, two blues and an erect-crested penguin in care.
The wire enclosure around the lighthouse is used as a compound for recovering penguins, while there is a hospital on land surrounding the former lighthouse caretaker's house.
Nest numbers have grown from 10 in 2002 to 30 last season, and continue to rise.
Volunteers carry out a wide range of tasks as their training and understanding of the penguins improves.
For example, a new volunteer would start off working on tracks and creating habitat through to building nesting boxes, trapping predators, managing visitors, maintaining signs and moving on to help care for injured or sick penguins.
Wild cats and ferrets make up the bulk of predators.
More details of the work of the trust can be found on the website, www.penguins.org.nz.
Source:
http://www.odt.co.nz/your-town/moeraki/77428/penguin-health-principal-issue
By David Bruce on Sat, 10 Oct 2009
Moeraki | The Regions: North Otago
"I wish the penguins would do what I tell them - stay away from sharks, breed faster and look after themselves," she said.
Mrs Goldsworthy owns and lives in the Moeraki lighthouse and home and is manager of the Katiki Point Penguin Charitable Trust, which won the supreme award in the annual TrustPower Waihemo community awards.
The trust looks after penguins, especially yellow-eyed penguins, on habitat along the Moeraki Peninsula.
The trust was established by Janice and Bob Jones in 2001 and is chaired by Walter Kiener, of Moeraki.
It has been highly successful, which she puts down to the strength of its volunteer organisation.
About 15 volunteers are involved on a regular basis, but are helped by overseas visitors who come and stay at the lighthouse and help care for the penguins.
The secondary school she was at had a wild bird colony and, over a period of eight years, cared for more than 4000 birds.
She was experienced in caring for birds and heard from a friend who had visited the Moeraki Lighthouse colony that Mrs Jones wanted to retire from her role.
The job of caring for the penguins' habitat and the birds themselves passed to her.
The TrustPower award recognises the work of the trust and particularly its volunteers.
It costs about $15,000 a year to run the trust, the bulk of funds coming from donations from visitors and sponsorship from businesses.
The penguins attract about 20,000 international and national visitors a year.
The area now provides a safe haven for more than 70% of North Otago's yellow-eyed penguins.
Last financial year, 93 sick and injured penguins were cared for in the hospital at the Moeraki lighthouse, 90% of those making a full recovery.
Of the 93 penguins in care, 89 were yellow-eyed penguins.
There was one white-flippered penguin, two blues and an erect-crested penguin in care.
The wire enclosure around the lighthouse is used as a compound for recovering penguins, while there is a hospital on land surrounding the former lighthouse caretaker's house.
Nest numbers have grown from 10 in 2002 to 30 last season, and continue to rise.
Volunteers carry out a wide range of tasks as their training and understanding of the penguins improves.
For example, a new volunteer would start off working on tracks and creating habitat through to building nesting boxes, trapping predators, managing visitors, maintaining signs and moving on to help care for injured or sick penguins.
Wild cats and ferrets make up the bulk of predators.
More details of the work of the trust can be found on the website, www.penguins.org.nz.
Source:
http://www.odt.co.nz/your-town/moeraki/77428/penguin-health-principal-issue
Friday, October 9, 2009
Woodland Park Zoo iPhone app
Woodland Park Zoo PRESS RELEASE:
Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo has released a first-of-its-kind zoo iPhone application that allows visitors to track their location on zoo grounds, discover more about the animals, and access daily activity schedules to make the most of their next zoo visit. Bringing the zoo straight to your iPhone or iPod Touch at home and on zoo grounds, the application features:
* GPS-enabled zoo map with "Near Me" recommendations for animal exhibits, play areas, concession stands and restrooms
* daily schedule of zoo activities including zookeeper talks and children's programs
* educational animal fact sheets
* special promotional offers redeemable at concession stands
* "Friend Finder" to locate other iPhone users in your party on zoo grounds
* zoo news and happenings
* easy access to Facebook and Twitter so you can share your zoo experience
The application, designed in collaboration with Austin-based developers Avai Mobile Solutions, is available now to download for $0.99. iPhone users can go to the iTunes App Store and search for "Woodland Park Zoo" to download. Proceeds from each application sale go toward the zoo's animal care, education, conservation and operations costs that allow the zoo to care for more than 1,000 animals representing 300 species, and support 38 field conservation programs in 50 countries worldwide.
Source:
http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2009/10/you_damn_penguins_get_off_my_p.php
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Feds Will Face Lawsuit for Denying Penguins Endangered Species Protections
For Immediate Release, October 6, 2009
Contact: Shaye Wolf, Center for Biological Diversity, (415) 632-5301; cell (415) 385-5746
Todd Steiner, Turtle Island Restoration Network, (415) 663-8590 x 103
Feds Will Face Lawsuit for Denying Penguins Endangered Species Protections
Emperor Penguins March Toward Extinction As Global Warming Melts Habitat
SAN FRANCISCO— The Center for Biological Diversity and Turtle Island Restoration Network today notified the Department of the Interior of their intent to file suit against the agency for denying necessary protections under the Endangered Species Act for emperor and rockhopper penguins, despite clear scientific evidence that the species are threatened by global warming. The emperor penguin, the most ice-dependent of all penguin species, is threatened by the loss of its sea-ice habitat as well as declining food availability wrought by the warming ocean off Antarctica. Just last month, scientists analyzing NASA data announced that ice melt in western Antarctica has accelerated to profound levels and ice sheets are shrinking much faster than predicted.
“Right now penguins are marching toward extinction due to the impacts of global warming,” said Shaye Wolf, a seabird biologist with the Center for Biological Diversity. “Protecting penguins under the Endangered Species Act is an essential step toward saving them.”
Today’s notice challenges a decision made under the Bush administration that global warming impacts are too “uncertain” to warrant protecting emperor penguins. The notice also challenges denials of protection for northern rockhopper penguin and all but a few populations of southern rockhopper penguin. In 2006, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a petition to list 12 penguin species as threatened or endangered. The Interior Department conducted status reviews for 10 of those species. After delays and ultimately a court order, the agency proposed listing seven species but denied protection for the remaining penguins, which are the subject of today’s notice.
The emperor penguin colony at Pointe Geologie, featured in the Academy Award-winning documentary March of the Penguins, has declined by more than 50 percent, and scientists predict that sea-ice loss due to climate change will push this colony to the brink of extinction within this century. Another study concluded that 40 percent of the world’s emperor penguins will be in jeopardy from a further temperature rise of 1.3 degrees Celsius, which the world will exceed before mid-century on our current course. Warming ocean temperatures and melting sea ice in the Southern Ocean encircling Antarctica have diminished the emperor and southern rockhopper penguins’ food supply. Commercial fisheries are also a key threat to the penguins.
“Penguins face a double whammy from the threats brought by climate change and industrial fisheries that deplete the penguins’ food supply and entangle and drown the penguins in longlines and other destructive fishing gear. They deserve protection under the Endangered Species Act,” said Todd Steiner, executive director of Turtle Island Restoration Network.
Krill, an essential food source not just for these penguins but also for whales and seals, has declined by as much as 80 percent since the 1970s over large areas of the Southern Ocean with the loss of sea ice. Additionally, ocean acidification resulting from the ocean’s absorption of human-produced carbon dioxide threatens all three penguin species. Scientists predict that acidic ocean conditions may be lethal for key marine organisms at the base of the Southern Ocean food web as early as 2030.
“If the Obama administration is serious about restoring scientific integrity to government decision-making, it will stand behind the sound science showing that global warming is threatening the emperor penguin and protect this species before it’s too late,” said Wolf.
Listing under the Endangered Species Act would provide broad protection to these penguins, including a requirement that federal agencies ensure that any action carried out, authorized, or funded by the U.S. government will not “jeopardize the continued existence” of the penguin species. For example, if penguins are listed, future approval of fishing permits for U.S.-flagged vessels operating on the high seas would require analysis and minimization of impacts on the listed penguins. The Act also has an important role to play in reducing greenhouse gas pollution by compelling federal agencies to look at the impact of the emissions generated by their activities on listed species and to adopt solutions to reduce them.
For more information on penguins and a link to the federal petition, please see: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/birds/penguins/index.html
For a link to the Notice of Intent to file suit, please see: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/birds/penguins/pdfs/Penguin_60-day_notice_10-06-09.pdf
For a link to photos of emperor and southern rockhopper penguins, please see: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/birds/penguins/press_photos.html
The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 225,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
Turtle Island Restoration Network is an international marine conservation organization headquartered in California whose 10,000 members work to protect sea turtles and marine biodiversity in the United States and around the world. For more information, visit www.SeaTurtles.org.
Contact: Shaye Wolf, Center for Biological Diversity, (415) 632-5301; cell (415) 385-5746
Todd Steiner, Turtle Island Restoration Network, (415) 663-8590 x 103
Feds Will Face Lawsuit for Denying Penguins Endangered Species Protections
Emperor Penguins March Toward Extinction As Global Warming Melts Habitat
SAN FRANCISCO— The Center for Biological Diversity and Turtle Island Restoration Network today notified the Department of the Interior of their intent to file suit against the agency for denying necessary protections under the Endangered Species Act for emperor and rockhopper penguins, despite clear scientific evidence that the species are threatened by global warming. The emperor penguin, the most ice-dependent of all penguin species, is threatened by the loss of its sea-ice habitat as well as declining food availability wrought by the warming ocean off Antarctica. Just last month, scientists analyzing NASA data announced that ice melt in western Antarctica has accelerated to profound levels and ice sheets are shrinking much faster than predicted.
“Right now penguins are marching toward extinction due to the impacts of global warming,” said Shaye Wolf, a seabird biologist with the Center for Biological Diversity. “Protecting penguins under the Endangered Species Act is an essential step toward saving them.”
Today’s notice challenges a decision made under the Bush administration that global warming impacts are too “uncertain” to warrant protecting emperor penguins. The notice also challenges denials of protection for northern rockhopper penguin and all but a few populations of southern rockhopper penguin. In 2006, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a petition to list 12 penguin species as threatened or endangered. The Interior Department conducted status reviews for 10 of those species. After delays and ultimately a court order, the agency proposed listing seven species but denied protection for the remaining penguins, which are the subject of today’s notice.
The emperor penguin colony at Pointe Geologie, featured in the Academy Award-winning documentary March of the Penguins, has declined by more than 50 percent, and scientists predict that sea-ice loss due to climate change will push this colony to the brink of extinction within this century. Another study concluded that 40 percent of the world’s emperor penguins will be in jeopardy from a further temperature rise of 1.3 degrees Celsius, which the world will exceed before mid-century on our current course. Warming ocean temperatures and melting sea ice in the Southern Ocean encircling Antarctica have diminished the emperor and southern rockhopper penguins’ food supply. Commercial fisheries are also a key threat to the penguins.
“Penguins face a double whammy from the threats brought by climate change and industrial fisheries that deplete the penguins’ food supply and entangle and drown the penguins in longlines and other destructive fishing gear. They deserve protection under the Endangered Species Act,” said Todd Steiner, executive director of Turtle Island Restoration Network.
Krill, an essential food source not just for these penguins but also for whales and seals, has declined by as much as 80 percent since the 1970s over large areas of the Southern Ocean with the loss of sea ice. Additionally, ocean acidification resulting from the ocean’s absorption of human-produced carbon dioxide threatens all three penguin species. Scientists predict that acidic ocean conditions may be lethal for key marine organisms at the base of the Southern Ocean food web as early as 2030.
“If the Obama administration is serious about restoring scientific integrity to government decision-making, it will stand behind the sound science showing that global warming is threatening the emperor penguin and protect this species before it’s too late,” said Wolf.
Listing under the Endangered Species Act would provide broad protection to these penguins, including a requirement that federal agencies ensure that any action carried out, authorized, or funded by the U.S. government will not “jeopardize the continued existence” of the penguin species. For example, if penguins are listed, future approval of fishing permits for U.S.-flagged vessels operating on the high seas would require analysis and minimization of impacts on the listed penguins. The Act also has an important role to play in reducing greenhouse gas pollution by compelling federal agencies to look at the impact of the emissions generated by their activities on listed species and to adopt solutions to reduce them.
For more information on penguins and a link to the federal petition, please see: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/birds/penguins/index.html
For a link to the Notice of Intent to file suit, please see: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/birds/penguins/pdfs/Penguin_60-day_notice_10-06-09.pdf
For a link to photos of emperor and southern rockhopper penguins, please see: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/birds/penguins/press_photos.html
The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 225,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
Turtle Island Restoration Network is an international marine conservation organization headquartered in California whose 10,000 members work to protect sea turtles and marine biodiversity in the United States and around the world. For more information, visit www.SeaTurtles.org.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Baby Penguin Added To Penguin's Rock Exhibit at Tennessee Aquarium
Baby Penguin Added To Penguin's Rock Exhibit at Tennessee Aquarium
Submitted by Joe Legge on October 5, 2009 - 5:02pm. Hamilton County News
Only one of three penguin chicks that hatched this Summer at the Tennessee Aquarium survived.
The four-month old marked its first full day as part of the "Penguin's Rock" exhibit today.
Parents Paulie and Chaos nursed the chick to good health. The baby spent the past couple of weeks being integrated with the other penguins -- and learning to swim.
It's a little smaller than the adults, features a black beak, and its' yellow feathers still haven't grown in.
Loribeth Aldrich, Aviculturist with the Tennessee Aquarium, says "the parents for the past few weeks have not had any interest in the chick. The chick to them is an adult and can fend for itself. It eats on its own. The parents are really attached to the nest... And the only reason the nest is still there is we want a safe place to put the chick at night."
Aquarium workers still don't know the sex of the penguin, and probably wont until conducting a blood test next month. A contest may be held to pick a name.
Source:
http://www.wdef.com/news/baby_penguin_added_to_penguins_rock_exhibit_at_tennessee_aquarium/10/2009
VIDEO:
http://wdef.com/video/baby_penguin_added_to_penguins_rock_exhibit_at_tennessee_aquarium/10/2009_0
Submitted by Joe Legge on October 5, 2009 - 5:02pm. Hamilton County News
Only one of three penguin chicks that hatched this Summer at the Tennessee Aquarium survived.
The four-month old marked its first full day as part of the "Penguin's Rock" exhibit today.
Parents Paulie and Chaos nursed the chick to good health. The baby spent the past couple of weeks being integrated with the other penguins -- and learning to swim.
It's a little smaller than the adults, features a black beak, and its' yellow feathers still haven't grown in.
Loribeth Aldrich, Aviculturist with the Tennessee Aquarium, says "the parents for the past few weeks have not had any interest in the chick. The chick to them is an adult and can fend for itself. It eats on its own. The parents are really attached to the nest... And the only reason the nest is still there is we want a safe place to put the chick at night."
Aquarium workers still don't know the sex of the penguin, and probably wont until conducting a blood test next month. A contest may be held to pick a name.
Source:
http://www.wdef.com/news/baby_penguin_added_to_penguins_rock_exhibit_at_tennessee_aquarium/10/2009
VIDEO:
http://wdef.com/video/baby_penguin_added_to_penguins_rock_exhibit_at_tennessee_aquarium/10/2009_0
Monday, October 5, 2009
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