More random thoughts about bartending
11 years ago
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Petty People Complain: Penguins 'invade' Cape Town's Boulder's beach
Residents surrounding an African penguin viewing spot in South Africa complain of a specie "invasion" and destruction.
Last Modified: 02 Nov 2012
Thousands of penguins have "invaded" residential areas and are causing destruction in Boulders beach
[Al Jazeera]
The area is famous for being one of the best places to spot the African Penguin and a nature reserve in the area provides a safe haven for the endangered species, protecting the birds from the effects of human settlement, commercial activities and pollution.
Residents, however, are now blaming an increased invasion of penguins on poor infrastructure. A fence built to restrain the birds from wandering inland has not been maintained for many years and is not large enough to contain them.
They say the fence is also full of holes.
In Betty's Bay, 100km from Cape Town, 70-year-old Barbara Wallers pointing to her garden said, "Look what they have done to the bushes here; they have killed all the garden."
Wallers, who has lived in Betty Bay since 1947 said she was used to seeing the occasional penguin in her garden, but they have increased in the last two years, leaving droppings and making a lot of noise.
"The stench, which stinks like hell, which is a health hazard, I get terrible hay fever, sore eyes, ecetera,ecetera. Then we have got all the guano and the feathers and when the wind blows we get all this bloody black rubbish in our house, and the noise at night is unreal...they bellow and bellow and bellow, I did not sleep last night from 3.45am the other morning," she said.
Like Wallers, many other residents complain that the birds have become a nuisance and are worried about their health, especially when the birds start breeding.
But, according to the South African Foundation for the Conservation for Coastal Birds or SANNCOB, the African penguin population has decreased by 90 per cent in the the last century, and is mainly threatened by human settlements, commercial over-fishing and pollution.
"It's a real sadness because there should be a co-existence between the penguins and the people. I think there are many people in Betty's Bay that absolutely adore the penguins, so I think it would be wonderful if the organisations that manage them which is Cape Nature Reserve and Overstrand (Municipality) and the people of Betty's Bay can take hands and this thing can quietly be resolved," said Margaret Roestorf, Executive Director of the South African Foundation for the Conservation for Coastal Birds.
Local authorities say they are already working on plans to extend the fence in the coming months, to prevent penguins from reaching people's homes.
source
Cotswold Wildlife Park's new penguins hatch - ready for winter
Friday 2nd November 2012 in Witney
By Tim Hughes
One of the baby penguins
Steven and Heather hatched at their home at the Cotswold Wildife Park, a few weeks ago – the first penguin chicks to have been born at the park, near Burford, since 2007.
They will be introduced to the rest of the group in their pool later this month.
Penguin chick Stephen is pictured with Davide Frigo, head of the bird section.
Curator Jamie Craig said: “After several barren years, our penguins have produced two chicks which have been hand reared by the bird team. This is quite a labour intensive process for the keepers and it is with a hint of sadness that they will be following their integration into the penguin colony.”
And the penguins are not the only new arrivals at the park. Four otter cubs – or kits – are reported to be in good health, though visitors will have to be lucky to catch them - they usually only rise from their nest at feeding times or in the late afternoon.
source
Friday, November 2, 2012
Thursday, November 1, 2012
New penguin colony found
By Westport News
A substantial new penguin colony has been found on the West Coast.
The West Coast Blue Penguin Trust's latest survey made the find near Perfect Strangers Beach, north of Punakaiki, famed for its pancake rocks.
The bay where the colony was found was hard to get to, making it the perfect place for blue penguins to thrive, said trust ranger Reuben Lane.
"The bay is a very well protected fortress, ringed by cliffs and nikau palms and it was exciting to find a significant number of penguins making the area home," said Mr Lane.
More than 60 volunteers took part in the annual census from August 1-5. They found some 550 sets of penguin prints, compared to around 510 last year.
The largest colonies were around Carters Beach, Charleston, Punakaiki, Paroa and Okarito.
Despite the massacre of 15 blue penguins by dogs at Siberia Bay, Cape Foulwind earlier in the year, surveyors were delighted to find four sets of prints in the bay.
Trust co-ordinator Inger Perkins said this was remarkable.
"We want to reiterate to dog owners in the area it is essential they don't let their dogs roam so we can protect the few penguins that remain," Ms Perkins said.
source
Friday Oct 5, 2012
The West Coast Blue Penguin Trust's latest survey made the find near Perfect Strangers Beach, north of Punakaiki, famed for its pancake rocks.
The bay where the colony was found was hard to get to, making it the perfect place for blue penguins to thrive, said trust ranger Reuben Lane.
"The bay is a very well protected fortress, ringed by cliffs and nikau palms and it was exciting to find a significant number of penguins making the area home," said Mr Lane.
More than 60 volunteers took part in the annual census from August 1-5. They found some 550 sets of penguin prints, compared to around 510 last year.
The largest colonies were around Carters Beach, Charleston, Punakaiki, Paroa and Okarito.
Despite the massacre of 15 blue penguins by dogs at Siberia Bay, Cape Foulwind earlier in the year, surveyors were delighted to find four sets of prints in the bay.
Trust co-ordinator Inger Perkins said this was remarkable.
"We want to reiterate to dog owners in the area it is essential they don't let their dogs roam so we can protect the few penguins that remain," Ms Perkins said.
source
Penguins find safe haven in cosy cove
By Roger Moroney
Friday Nov 2, 2012
Penguin Cove, a new enclosure for Little Blue Penguins, at the National
Aquarium of New Zealand, Marine Parade, Napier. Photo / Duncan Brown
But yesterday, as the National Aquarium's grand new penguin "cove" was officially opened, they were full of beans ...well, herrings and pilchards actually.
The four penguins, known as "Littles" or "Blue", are part of a colony of 10 who have taken up home at the remarkable new open-air facility at the aquarium. They happily honked at each other, waddled across the soft white sands, and swam like little tubby torpedoes through their own private little ocean.
"They all have names," aquarist and keeper Becs Cuthbert said as she whistled to her little charges, who honked back.
"And they're all different. I can recognise them all."
A close look reveals many of the differences were brought about by misadventure.
Both Elmo and Gonzo were rescued after being entangled in fishing lines, with Gonzo having lost a flipper and his lower jaw.
Lulu is blind in one eye and has limited vision in the other, while Gordon was the victim of a dog attack after coming ashore to rest.
"In the wild they would have had no chance of survival, none at all," Ms Cuthbert said.
But being residents of Penguin Cove they now stand to enjoy a longer than usual life, as well as entertain visitors who will get their first chance to check out the enclosure for themselves when it is opened to the public at 9am tomorrow.
Aquarium manager Rob Yarrall said seeing the project come to fruition was hugely satisfying.
"It is a real asset and something we can all be proud of," Mr Yarrall said.
The design of the cove, which features rock faces with tiny caves for the occupants, as well as sandy beaches, logs, flax and rocks, and a large pool which has underwater viewing windows, was put together by the staff and based on the in-the-wild environment the little blues live in.
He said the penguins were moved in about a fortnight ago and had adapted to their new home and were "very comfortable" with it.
"Our little penguins will be great ambassadors for their species in the wild," he said. "People can come and look at them up close and get to know all about them.
"There will be talks by our penguin keepers three times a day, including a feeding time. This will be a chance for our staff to share information about how close little penguins live to us and how we can all help with their declining numbers by doing a few simple things."
The aquarium will be working closely with the Department of Conservation (DoC) to share the messages such as encouraging dog owners to keep their pets on leads at the beach and to contact DoC if members of the public ever find a little penguin that they are concerned about.
Napier Mayor Barbara Arnott was on hand to not only open Penguin Cove but also as a willing waiter by feeding some of the residents.
"It's great to have this new exhibit ready for locals and visitors to enjoy this summer and in years to come,'" she said.
- HAWKES BAY TODAY
source
Paint with penguins at Children's Zoo in Saginaw
Paint with penguins at Children's Zoo in Saginaw
By
on November 01, 2012
SAGINAW, MI — A joyful Petey brayed in the wind, happily leaving her mark on a canvas outside the African penguin compound at the Children’s Zoo at Celebration Square.
Anyone hearing the penguin’s call would understand why they’re also known as jackass penguins, but on this sunny fall afternoon, Petey and her sister Scooter more resembled Picasso and Pollack.
With 5-year-old Alex Jaffe from Saginaw Township nearby, the feathered sisters took turns walking across a tray of blue and red paint and happily making colorful footprints.
Watching from the gate were brother-and-sister Chilly and Willy, and Don and Dewey, eager to get their feet wet, too.
“This really started as a medicinal thing,” said the penguins' keeper, Katy Kipfmiller. “Penguins get this fungus called bumble foot and we let them walk through a cool, wet tray of medicine to help heal their sores.”
Because Kipfmiller has a creative mind, said Zoo Director Nancy Parker, she came up with the idea of letting the penguins do the same with paint.
“She said, ‘I think we can do this,’ and the penguins loved it,” Parker said.
The one-of-a-kind artwork sells for $50 in the zoo’s gift shop.
For $100, a youngster, accompanied by an adult, can go into the compound and paint with the penguins, adding hand-prints and embellishments to the resulting work, theirs to keep.
It’s a great Christmas present, the shaky prints catching the penguins’ unbridled joy, though, being warm-weather penguins, they can only do it when the temperatures are at least 45 degrees.
Sessions given as Christmas gifts would be scheduled in the spring, Parker said.
“People always think of penguins as being at
home in the ice and snow,” Kipfmiller said. “But this would be like
bringing a lion into the cold. It just isn’t right.”
“This
is the ultimate cool time; they’re doing good, and they’re getting
attention. They’re loving it.” — Katy Kipfmiller, penguin keeper
Alex was a little shy at first, venturing to pet the penguins but
leaving it to Kipfmiller and intern Kyle Sajdak to direct their artistic
efforts.Eight-year-old twins Molly and Anna, hanging back with mother Jennifer Jaffe, had plenty of questions, though.
“Oh my goodness,” Anna said, watching the blue and red footprints blend into purple.
“How can you tell the penguins apart?”
African penguins have a mark like a coconut on their tummies, Kipfmiller explained, that’s as individual as a thumbprint, “but we have different color tags that tell us which is which,” she added.
“Are there any baby penguins?” they asked.
The six in Saginaw, one male and five females, are 10 to 11 years old, and they can’t have babies together “because Chilly and Willy are the ones who like each other the most, but they’re brother and sister,” Kipfmiller said.
The penguins, also known as blackfoot penguins, are in the survival breeding program through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, as are the cotton-top tamarin monkeys, Parker said.
“But all of our penguins are related, so we would need to bring in more penguins to have babies,” she said.
A plump little Petey, who went from 6 to 12 pounds in four days in preparation for molting, responded to a little encouragement from Alex, shivering in delight when he told her, “Good girl!”
“She’s like, ‘I’m doing it; I’m like totally standing in paint,’” Kipfmiller said, falling in to Valley talk as Scooter tried to slip through the gate.
But Petey wasn’t going to leave Alex’s side.
“It looks like you have a friend,” Kipfmiller said. “This is the ultimate cool time; they’re doing good, and they’re getting attention. They’re loving it.”
To arrange a private painting session, call the Children’s Zoo at Celebration Square, 1730 S. Washington in Saginaw, at 989-759-1408 .
source
Pigeon is Puzzled After Hatching a Penguin
Andreas Jalsøe/CC BY 3.0
Earlier this month, officials from EcoWorld Aquarium in Picton, New Zealand, discovered a single lonely egg near a penguin breeding ground, likely abandoned by its mother as an unseasonably high Spring Tide washed through the area days before. But although the egg was stone cold and seemed totally lifeless after so long without the warming presence of mom, aquarium staffer Kishan Kirkwood decided to try to save it anyways.
As it turns out, Kishan just so happens to live with an expert incubator -- his pet pigeon.
Evidently, it didn't take long before the undiscriminating pigeon welcomed the needy egg into her nest with open wings, happily taking on full-time egg-sitting duties to nurse that chilly baby penguin back to life. In fact, she seems to have taken on her job as surrogate mom with seriousness that by the time the egg hatched several days later, she couldn't quite figure out why it wasn't a pigeon that emerged -- but instead a little blue penguin chick.
"The pigeon kept sitting up and looking at the penguin, sitting down again, sitting up looking at it wondering what the [heck] . . . I guess," Kishan tells The Marlborough Express.
And with that, Rambo the little blue penguin made its unlikely entrance into the world.
Thankfully for the pigeon, perhaps, she won't be saddled with rearing the baby penguin into adulthood -- after all, the chick she helped hatch will grow to be around five times her size, and be more interested in fish and squid than breadcrumbs and birdseed. Instead, Rambo will be raised by the good folks at the EcoWorld Aquarium until he's old enough to rejoin his kind back into the wild.
Chances are that Kishan's kindly pet pigeon, with her world-class instincts to mother, will never again cross paths with the chick she helped rescue from the brink -- but with any luck, Rambo and his long-line of future offspring will stand as a testament to her gracious show of feathered solidarity.
Ken and Nyetta/CC BY 3.0
http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/pigeon-confused-after-hatching-baby-penguin.html
Vote for your favorite penguin names!
Click link below and VOTE for your favorite penguin name; see the results instantly!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
