New penguins on the (ice) block
- From: Sunday Herald Sun
- May 08, 2010
Melbourne Aquarium has received new penguins from New Zealand. The new Kiwi gentoo penguins (left) check out their Aussie hosts through a perspex barrier. Picture: Jay Town Source: HWT Image Library
THESE cute little penguins have travelled across the Tasman in a strategic quest to find love.
Melbourne Aquarium's sub-antarctic penguin breeding program has been given a boost with eight new potential suitors.And Victorians are being asked to name one of the birds - a cute six-month-old gentoo penguin.
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The newcomers also include king penguins Dottie, 2, Arthur, 1, and Hudson, 1, and their gentoo counterparts Tahi, 10, and six-month olds Woody, Lily and Mouse, who arrived in Melbourne from New Zealand on Wednesday night.
There has been plenty of singing, puffed out chests and dancing in the aquarium's popular Antarctica exhibit since, as the competition for romance heats up.
The penguins, obtained from Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic Encounter and Underwater World, made the trip across the Tasman Sea on a temperature-controlled air freighter.
Senior penguin keeper Susannah McGinnes said they had settled in well.
"The kings are happy, they like being in a big group. The gentoos are cheeky, very curious,'' she said.
To name the penguin go to the "What's New'' page on www.melbourneaquarium.com.au
The competition will close at 5pm on Friday, May 14.
The winner of the chosen name, to be picked by the aquarium's penguin department, will receive a life-size penguin toy, family membership for a year and a VIP tour to see the penguin they have named.
King penguins
Melbourne Aquarium has received a batch of new penguins from New Zealand. The king penguins take a dip in their new pool. Picture: Jay Town
Source: HWT Image Library
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