Come on in, the water’s lovely: Kentucky ponders whether to take the plunge while his friends flap around in their pool at Chester Zoo
His friends are more than happy to splash about in their icy pools – but for Kentucky the penguin, water holds a real chill.
The runt steadfastly refuses to take the plunge, causing his keepers no end of woe.
They've tried forcing Kentucky in to keep his feathers clean – but have resorted to pouring water on him.
'It's a bit too cold for him in the water, so he spends all his time on the rocks just walking around,' said Kentucky's keeper, Adam Stevenson.
'It's a bit of a pain having to go over to feed him because he won't go in the water but he's a real character and everyone at the zoo loves him.'
The Humboldt penguin was born small and has always had moulting problems – but he has won the hearts of those at Chester Zoo in Cheshire.
'I expected to see all the penguins flapping about in the water but there was one who wasn't having any of it,' said visitor Stacey Commons.
'He just sat there looking a bit lonely on his rock. He's really cute but I felt sorry for him. It's like a monkey who's scared of climbing trees.
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LEEK, England, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- Keepers at a British zoo said a resident penguin with a fear of water has become a hit with curious park visitors.
Staff at Blackbrook Zoological Park in Leek, England, said 11-year-old Kentucky the Humbolt penguin developed a phobia of water because he was born a runt and had problems with losing feathers too quickly, making the water too cold for his comfort, The Sun reported Thursday.
"It's a bit too cold for him in the water, so he spends all his time on the rocks just walking around," said Adam Stevenson, the zoo's assistant bird keeper. "It's a bit of a pain having to go over especially to him to feed him because he won't go in the water, but he's a real character and everyone at the zoo loves him. We've got one of the biggest collections of birds in Europe here but Kentucky is a bit of a crowd pleaser."
"He has become quite famous because it's quite unusual for penguins not to like the water," he said.
Stevenson said keepers douse Kentucky with water at least twice a day to keep his feathers healthy and clean.
Stories courtesy of The Metro UK and UPI.com @ (respectively)
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?Meet_the_penguin_whos_afraid_of_water&in_article_id=497380&in_page_id=34
http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2009/01/22/Zoos_penguin_afraid_of_water/UPI-33331232667971/
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