Friday, April 18, 2014

Penguin Party! at the Aquarium of the Pacific

Thursday, April 17, 2014

By Dominique


Penguin Party!
Newsom the Penguin enthralled by a disco ball.  | Dominique Richardson
While it’s breeding season for the penguins, not all of them are stuck at home in their nest box. We planned a bright and colorful enrichment session for a few of the penguins, not currently preoccupied with nesting. Behind the scenes, we set up a colored disco ball and set out some toys and bright, shiny confetti, safely sealed away in a penguin-proof container of course. As the party guests arrived, they hopped down the stairs and spotted all of the fun. Old toys were ignored in favor of the new enrichment items. Several penguins eyed the shiny confetti-in-a-bottle and nudged it, but while it was a curiosity, it wasn’t the life of the party. The main attraction was the colored disco ball.

The lights shined on the ground (but not too brightly, to be on the safe side). And it spun in circles… oooooh… The attending penguins were quite intrigued. They gawked at the colors, or maybe it was the motion. A couple penguins walked around and around to get different views, stopping every few waddles to peer and cock their head to the side as though trying to reason out what the thing was. But I guess Penguin parties are short. After a time with the repetitive disco ball, the penguins decided to call it a night and return to their regular activities of swimming and following their caretakers around. And with that, the party was over.

source






Penguins headed down the stairs to the party behind the scenes! | Dominique Richardson

Newsom eyes shiny, colorful confetti safely trapped in a bottle. | Dominique Richardson

 Newsom and Hedi stare a the disco ball. | Dominique Richardson

 Newsom, intrigued, gets an up close look at the shiny lights. | Dominique Richardson

 Heidi inspects the disco ball up close. | Dominique Richardson

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