By Matthew Salisbury Thursday 06 February 2014
THEY don’t like being touched, their peck might give you a bruise that will last for a month and if you don’t concentrate on delivering the fish straight into the upturned beak, you could discover for yourself that these creatures are equipped with very sharp ’teeth’ indeed.
Hardly the most cuddly creatures on Earth then, but as a lifelong devotee to all things penguin, a set of risks I’m prepared to endure.
I first fell in love with penguins on a rain-soaked afternoon visit to Bristol zoo when, as a teenager struggling to grasp the meaning of life, I watched a resolute adult penguin for two hours and learned the value of steadfast stoicism in the face of adversity.
But, despite periodically picking up brochures for Antarctic study cruises, I have never - in the broadest sense - taken the love affair any further.
The opportunity to feed, observe and just generally share a few close moments with the colony of Humboldt penguins at West Midlands Safari Park was, therefore, a chance not to be missed.
Amy Sewell, who looks after the colony of roughly a dozen penguins, kindly allows me to release the group from their overnight indoor pool and give them their first feed of fish, fish and more fish.
Trying to aim a fish into one beak amid a jostling pack of would-be diners produces a few close snaps. Throwing a handful of the sprats into the pool provides a glimpse of just how agile mother nature has made these wonderful creatures.
The park’s new Penguin Cove is freshly designed and provides the perfect stage for the penguins to exhibit exactly to sort of behaviour which has made them such firm favourites in the eyes of the film and TV watching public. And they certainly don’t disappoint.
There’s a recognisably human element to the waddling walk, the faltering steps on wet rock and the inquisitive looks while waiting for the fish bucket to be plumbed again. And there’s also the spectacular as they demonstrate that - contrary to every natural history book - they can fly, but only if it’s underwater.
The past decade has been a good one for penguins when it comes to appearances on the big and small screen. Whether it’s being cartooned into tap dancers or being stalked by hidden cameras, they’re rarely off the screen it seems. High comedy mixed with against-all-odds struggles just to make it through the trials of life.
Watching emperor penguins surviving the worst of the Antarctic winter, it’s possible to believe that these hardy creatures could survive anything. But that’s not the case.
Like many creatures in the wild, penguins face a threat to their future. Climate change in the form of gradually rising temperature will affect the ice and the traditional feeding grounds. But it’s more of a manmade problem for the Humboldts as their breeding grounds along the generally unfrozen coast of South America are mined more and more for guano. Man, it seems, is the problem once more.
Ironically it could be the affection man has for penguins that goes some way to helping the species survive and prosper. Films like Mr Popper and Happy Feet together with documentaries like Spy in the Huddle and March of the Penguins, have pushed this particular threatened species closer to the front of the queue when it comes to help.
That’s certainly a view shared by Amy and her team and they’ll be hoping the lure of the penguins will help bring in a tide of money to further the work of the Marine Conservation Society during a special awareness week.
Amy and her colleagues in the penguin and sea lion habitats will be dressing as mermaids and posing on rocks to raise money. Amid all the fun - and photo opportunities - there will be the more serious message of encouraging visitors, particularly the young, to think about the plight facing our coastlines and their vulnerable inhabitants.
Don’t let the comedy obscure the very real threats that lie ahead, is the message. Seeing a penguin browbeating the rain to remain unruffled and the picture of detached dignity might teach one lesson. But realising that those who look best equipped to survive and whose presence we take for granted, need our attention now more than ever, might be (a few generations down the line) a far more important one.
The park’s Love Oceans Week runs from March 17 to 23 and details of activitiescan be found on www.wmsp.co.uk. The park is open daily from February 14
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Pictures by Millie Salisbury
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