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Sunbathing Galapagos Penguin
Originally uploaded by Swift-Nick

(Spheniscus mendiculus)

The Galápagos Penguin is a penguin endemic to the Galápagos Islands. It is the only penguin to live on the equator and can survive due to the cool temperatures resulting from the Humboldt Current and cool waters from great depths brought up by the Cromwell Current.

The Galapagos Penguin is one of the smallest penguins. It is the only penguin to cross the Northern Hemisphere which means they live farther north than any other warm weather penguin.

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CHIN STRAP PENGUIN ANTARCTICA
Originally uploaded by OLDBOB77

Meredith Trotta; and her kids, Lilly, Grace and George Parzych, all of Ridgefield, take a behind-the-scenes look at the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk's African penguin colony during the All Access Penguin tour. Photo: Contributed Photo / Connecticut Post Contributed 

 

Visitors of the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk can get up close and personal with the aquarium's visiting African penguin colony during the All Access Penguin tours. Photo: Contributed Photo / Connecticut Post Contributed 

Aquarist Elias Venetsanos feeds the African penguin colony at the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk during the All Access Penguin tour. Photo: Contributed Photo, Joanna Muenz / Connecticut Post Contributed 

 

Gwyn and Hannah Sussman of Seymour take a behind-the-scenes look at the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk's African penguin colony during the All Access Penguin tour. Photo: Contributed Photo, Joanna Muenz / Connecticut Post Contributed 

 

Penguin tour at Norwalk Aquarium

Scott Gargan, Staff Writer 

Published: 06:16 p.m., Thursday, December 2, 2010

 

Dobie and Dixie fell in love, and even laid an egg; Phil flirted with Dixie before finding Izzy, his one true mate; and Astro secretly built a rock nest for his sweetheart, Jo. There's plenty of juicy details to uncover inside the Maritime Aquarium's African penguin colony. But you would never know without taking the All Access Penguins tour, a meet-and-greet with the Aquarium's most popular flippered friends.

The tour takes place weekends during December, and Dec. 26 to 31, and offers a behind-the-scenes look at the lovebirds -- Dixie, Dobie, Izzy, Moby, Edgar, Violet, Astro, Sundae, Jo and Phil -- who roost in a heated tank on the Aquarium's riverfront courtyard. In addition to romantic tidbits, visitors will learn about penguin care, feeding, habitat, anatomy and lifespan, among other subjects. Each day of the tours, at noon and 3 p.m., a general admission ticket will be drawn for a free, surprise penguin visit.

The tour offers one last chance to get up close and personal with the toddling celebrities before they bray goodbye to the Aquarium on Jan. 2. Bill Kennedy, a tour guide for All Access Penguins, said it's as close as you can get to the birds without actually petting them. "People feel like they are part of the Aquarium, rather than just visitors," he said of the tour, which lasts about 30 minutes in the afternoon and an hour for morning sessions. "They are thrilled by it."

On a Sunday afternoon, the Sussman family of Seymour -- Nancy, her son Paul, daughter-in-law Gwyn and grandchildren Hannah and Jacob -- won the drawing and upon presentation of the winning stub, headed backstage to see the penguins.

When Nancy Sussman inquired about the penguins' pink bald spot, Kennedy replied that it is an adaptation that helps dispel body heat. And when Paul Sussman asked about survival rates in the wild, Kennedy explained that the species is under threat from industrial disasters, unlawful harvesting of penguin eggs and disruption of habitats by the scraping of guano, or excrement, which penguins use for nests. "Penguins are up against a lot of dangers," said Kennedy, adding that the population of African penguins has dropped by as much as 90 percent in the last few decades.

As he fed the penguins, aquarist Elias Venetsanos observed that all of the birds had packed on the pounds, an instinctual response to the approach of winter. On average, penguins eat 30 percent of their body weight a day, Venetsanos added. "They're just like a teenagers," Paul Sussman joked.

Venetsanos also discussed the various ways penguins show affection -- by digging, preening and bowing and shaking their heads. Sadly, as a result of old age, Dobie and Dixie's egg was infertile. Still, Venetsanos noted that being a monogamous species, their relationship remained strong. "They will probably stay together for life," he said.

As the tour ended, Nancy Sussman wondered aloud if she could "take a penguin home?" Instead, she was given the next best thing -- a penguin footprint painting and a plush penguin toy from the gift shop. The Sussmans had nothing but positive things to say as they returned from the tour. "It's so seldom that you get to see the animals up close," said Paul Sussman, a self-described "zoo junkie." "On the tour, you can identify with each individual animal, rather than seeing them as one big species."

"How many people can say they got this close?" chimed in Hannah Sussman, 13. "You can almost touch them."

Hatched at the Great Plains Zoo in Sioux City, S.D. and brought to the Maritime Aquarium almost two years ago, the penguins will soon be on their way to a new aquarium. Visitors and aquarists alike will find it hard to bid adieu to these waddling wonders. "They are taking a part of me with them," Venetsanos said. "It's going to be painful to see them leave."

Penguin Personalities:

- Dobie -- Male, 25, coupled with Dixie. The tallest of the bunch, Dobie has been known to collect pieces of matt for nesting material. He's also a good program bird, as he allows the aquarists to handle him without a fuss.

- Dixie -- Female, 27, coupled with Dobie. Dixie has been faithful to Dobie, despite advances by other penguins. She has widened hips, which creates an awkward gait. But she appears normal when she swims.

- Moby -- Male, 23, coupled with Sundae. One of the most social penguins, he likes to hang out with and court the trainers, and allows them to rub his back. He's also the heaviest and the most aggressive during feeding time.

- Sundae -- Female, 20, coupled with Moby. Like her partner, she is very affectionate towards the trainers and doesn't mind being handled.

- Edgar -- Male, 27, coupled with violet. One of the most patient birds, he waits until the others are done feeding before he feasts. He's territorial and won't let Violet come into their nest until he's done chowing down.

- Violet -- Female, 26, coupled with Edgar. Like Moby, she is aggressive during feeding time. The toughest of the females, she holds her own when challenged by another bird.

- Astro -- Male, 23, coupled with Jo. The most vocal of the group, he has been known to call out to strangers. He's been collecting rocks secretly from the trough, a sign of affection for Jo.

- Jo -- Female, 27, coupled with Astro. She is more skiddish than the others, preferring to keep her distance during feeding time (she opts to catch the food in her mouth).

- Phil -- Male, 27, coupled with Izzy. The shortest of the males, he was the last to find a mate. Later, he met his true love, Izzy.
- Izzy -- Female, 23, coupled with Phil. The most petite of the females, she and Phil are a perfect match. A bit more cautious than her compatriots, she does not like to be handled.

The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk is at 10 N. Water St. "All Access Penguins" tours will be held Sat, Sun, Dec. 11 and 12, 18 and 19 and Dec. 26-Jan. 2 at 9 a.m. $32.50, $22.50 for members (includes Aquarium admission). Tour is limited to 12 people. Children must be at least 7 years old and children younger than 15 must be accompanied by an adult. 203-852-0700, ext. 2206, www.maritimeaquarium.org.

Each day of the tours, at noon and 3 p.m., a winning ticket will be drawn from the Aquarium general admission tickets. The ticket number will be announced and posted in several locations in the Aquarium. Upon presentation of the winning ticket stub, all visitors of any age will be awarded a free penguin visit.

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More on the penguins at Jurong

 

New home for penguins

by Vimita Mohandas

05:55 AM Dec 03, 2010

 

Penguins waddling in the hot tropical sun. Hard to believe? But that is what visitors to Jurong Bird Park will see this month.

They can now catch sight of six species of penguins at the new $1.9 million Penguin Coast, including African penguins, one of the few species that can adapt to tropical conditions.

The exhibit took half a year to complete and is the Bird Park's first outdoor enclosure for penguins.

A general curator at Jurong Bird Park, Mr Raja Segran, said the penguins, who moved from the Singapore Zoo, have adapted well to their home.

Visitors can watch their feeding sessions twice daily at 10.30am and 3.30pm. Vimita Mohandas Photo by Wee Teck Hian

Source

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S$1.9m Penguin Coast officially opens at Jurong Bird Park
By Vimita Mohandas | Posted: 02 December 2010 1630 hrs

	Photos 1 of 1
	Video S$1.9m Penguin Coast officially opens at Jurong Bird Park

SINGAPORE: Visitors to Jurong Bird Park can now catch sight of six species of penguins at its new S$1.9 million Penguin Coast.

The new exhibit which took six months to complete boasts the bird park's first outdoor enclosure for penguins.

Penguins waddling in the outdoors is not quite a common sight in humid Singapore but the African penguins are one of the few species of penguins that can adapt to tropical conditions.

10 African penguins were moved from the Singapore Zoo about two weeks ago and it seems they have settled in.

"To our amazement, they adapted very well. By looking at them, they are all very active. And our feeding regime has also been very positive because ever since they came here, they've been eating a lot. Their appetite is one way of gauging whether they are happy or not and they've been eating a whole lot of fish," said Raja Segran, who is a general curator at Jurong Bird Park.

Visitors can watch their 15-minute feeding sessions twice daily at 10.30am and 3.30pm.

Bird Park's resident penguins like the Rockhopper and Macaroni can also be viewed at the indoor-climate-controlled den.

Other resident penguins include Humboldt, Fairy and the King Penguin.

These penguins are a hit with both adults and children.

Jurong Bird Park saw some 900,000 visitors last year and with this new exhibit, it expects to see a 10 to 15 per cent increase in visitorship.
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Hamleys drops plans for live penguins and reindeer after complaints

The world-famous toy shop has canceled preparations for a penguin pool where people could see the birds swim and be fed

•  Thursday 2 December 2010 16.43 GMT



Hamleys on Regent Street has cancelled its penguin pool plans after being criticised by animal rights campaigners. Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images 

World-famous toy shop Hamleys has abandoned plans to have live penguins in its Regent Street store, after criticism from animal rights campaigners. The penguins were due to appear in the shop next week but a spokesman confirmed it had been cancelled, after concerns from some customers. Plans to have real reindeer in the store this week have also been dropped. In a statement the store said: "Whilst we were taking every measure possible to ensure the welfare of the penguins, we have listened closely to people's views and feel this is the best course of action. "We apologise to those of our customers who were looking forward to seeing the penguins. To clarify, we no longer have reindeer in store." An advert for the event on the shop's website said: "Take a trip to Hamleys after school on Monday to visit our real life Penguin Pool! You will be able to see the penguins swim, interact with their friends and be fed at tea time!" Source

A Goose by Any Other Name is Not a Goose

If you've ever wondered where the term, "penguin," originated, this little blurb admits that the sailor who named them, probably didn't even see a penguin, but that the name stuck anyway. Read on: 

The new Oxford English, launched online yesterday, says that while penguins were being referred to as gare-fowl in the far north of Europe, the Welsh coined the term from two words – pen (head) and gwyn (white).
The first written citation is in 1577 from the log of the Golden Hind – Sir Francis Drake’s ship.

It reads: “Infinite were the Numbers of the foule, the Welsh men name Pengwin & Maglanus tearmed them Geese.”

But this has long divided language researchers with some doubting whether the word’s origins are Welsh because penguins tend to have black rather than white heads.

Source

Cape penguin chicks saved from death

2010-12-01 21:23

Johannesburg - A total of 415 endangered African penguin chicks were rescued from starvation at various penguin colonies near Cape Town, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) said on Wednesday.
"The chicks... from land and island-based penguin colonies... were abandoned by their parents and in danger of starving to death," IFAW spokesperson Christina Pretorius said in a statement.
"This is the largest number of chicks the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (Sancobb) has cared for at one time since 2007 when 481 abandoned chicks were treated," she said. A rescue team retrieved 236 chicks from Stony Point, 155 from Dyer Island and 24 others from various colonies on Wednesday.
They were taken to Sancobb, where they would be hand-reared for about six weeks before returning back to their colony.
"On several penguin colonies, chicks that hatch late in the season are frequently abandoned by their parents when the weather grows warmer and as food supplies diminish," Pretorius said.
"The problem is exacerbated by the fact that remaining adult penguins begin their annual moult at this time of the year. During moulting the penguins shed their old feathers and grow new ones, leaving them not waterproof and therefore unable to swim, catch fish and feed their chicks."
Sancobb CEO Venessa Strauss said that hand-reared penguin chicks showed a higher record of surviving to breeding age as well as higher productivity, compared to those fledged in the wild.
African penguin populations hav declined by more than 60% in the last three generations, Pretorius said.
The sharp decrease led to African penguins being classified endangered rather than vulnerable.

- SAPA

Source 

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Penguins
Originally uploaded by rskingsland

Death a part of penguin life

People finding ailing blue penguins on the beaches or in the harbour are being advised by the Department of Conservation to leave them be.

“This penguin carcass appears to have been played with post mortem – which is a bit disturbing.” - Chris Clark.
“Leave them alone, don’t take them home, they will die,” says DOC programme manager biodiversity Chris Clark.
“Just let nature take its course.”
DOC is fielding many calls from people who have blue penguins in their hot water cupboard, or the bath – which blue penguins don’t take well to.
Nurturing sick native birds is a skill that few people around the Bay have developed, says Chris.
We get a certain amount of mortality with blue penguins at this time of year, says Chris.
“It’s just a fact of life.
“The birds they breed all the way round the North Island. They come up on the Mount beaches and they are seen in the harbour as well.”
In the harbour, young blue penguins tend to get hit by boats. If people find them wandering about the dunes, put them under a bush, says Chris. If they’re dead, bury them.

 Source

Fury over Hamleys' Live Penguin Show Spurs Protests

HAMLEYS sparked fury from wildlife groups and animal lovers yesterday - over plans to have LIVE penguins and reindeer in the toy store as a Christmas stunt.

Shocked animal welfare experts said the world-famous retailer was treating the creatures as "living toys" after it advertised them appearing as an after-school treat for kids.

Hamleys ... outrage at animals plan

And hundreds of animal lovers protested in emails to Hamleys, saying they were appalled at the idea of putting the wildlife into a hot and busy store as children's entertainment. Hamleys, in central London, had advertised the animal shows on their website for next Monday, December 6.

But after the protests, details of the events were quickly removed yesterday. The ads said: "Take a trip to Hamleys after school on Monday to visit our real life Penguin Pool!

"You will be able to see the penguins swim, interact with their friends and be fed at tea time!"
And their reindeer event was billed as: "Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen!
"Have you ever dreamt of meeting Rudolph? Well now's your chance to meet some of his friends!
"Come into the magic of Hamleys after school to pet and feed our REAL beautiful Mummy and Baby Reindeer."

But UK wild animal welfare charity the Born Free Foundation yesterday said it was "shocked" at the plan.
A spokesman said: "The stress of transportation and being surrounded by hordes of people in an unnatural environment is one reason to call this stunt off.

"The totally inappropriate message that penguins and reindeer are little more than 'living toys' is another."
Appalled animal lovers set up a Facebook site in protest at the actions of the toy store.

And another furious poster raged on website Socialholic that the stress on the animals would be "horrendous".
They added: "This is disgusting. It teaches children that animals are worthless and putting some through this misery for a laugh is acceptable."
 
A spokeswoman for the RSPCAsaid last night: "If the animals are cared for as they should be and their needs are met, it's not illegal.

"But clearly extra care has to be taken in making sure animals are kept in a suitable environment and aren't caused unnecessary stress."

A spokeswoman for Hamleys yesterday confirmed the penguin and deer events were taking place - but then declined to comment further.

Source

Snowboarding penguins showcase extreme off piste abilities

It would seem these penguins have been p-p-picking up some tips from top snowboarder Shaun White going by the way they hit the slopes in these amazing pictures.

 

Macaroni Penguins 'snowboarding' across a glacier on the island of South Georgia (Pictures: Rex)

 

With their matching black penguin suits and snazzy yellow bills the bodacious birds appear to be lining up for the latest thrill.
However, these are no ski bums; instead they're off to stock up on food after a mammoth babysitting session.
After fasting for up to 42 days these Macaroni penguins are taking a run down to the Atlantic Ocean on the island of South Georgia in order to fatten up once again.
Macaroni Penguins spend the vast majority of the year at sea, only coming ashore in order to moult or mate.

 

Sloping off: The penguins trudge back after their exhilarating ride (Picture: Rex)

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Image of the Day

Punk Adelie Penguin Chick
Originally uploaded by Globalkins