Saturday, August 13, 2011

Step into penguin paradise at new Sea World exhibit

by Sarah Forgany / KENS 5

kvue.com

Posted on August 12, 2011

SAN ANTONIO, TX -- At a time when extreme heat and drought are consuming many parts of the world, there's a land far far south, where ice is life and life is scarce.
There you'll also find a rare and hidden beauty we know little about, simply because we can't live in that type of cold weather. But penguins, a small and resilient group of aquatic, flightless birds, thrive in the coldest place on earth.

There are 17 to 20 different species of penguins around the world, most of them native to the Southern Hemisphere. But you don't have to travel too far to get up close and personal with these neat birds.
At San Antonio's SeaWorld, park goers have been able to get a good look at the penguins for years -- but from behind a huge glass exhibit, separating people from the birds. Not anymore. A new one-of-a-kind penguin interactive experience is drawing visitors behind the scenes.

They can touch, carry, feed, and take pictures with the birds. I couldn't pass up on the opportunity! Just as I expected, my visit was incredible, unique and unforgettable.
San Antonio's SeaWorld is the ONLY SeaWorld in the country that now allows interaction with the penguins. At the exhibit, you'll find more than 200 of these feathery birds from four different species, including king, rockhopper, chinstrap and gentoo.

At first I was a little wary the birds would be hostile or aggressive, but the cute and cuddly birds turned out to be a lot more curious and friendly than I had imagined. One of them even climbed on my lap!
Supervisor Bob Flores has known these penguins for decades.
"It brings up a good point as far as conservation, not just these animals but all over the world," Said Flores, "We need to make sure that when you come in and see these animals, and once you see them up close and personal and you interact with them, then you get a better sense of what's incumbent upon us to take care of the environment as a whole."

Speaking of environment, as I mentioned before, penguins live in freezing temperatures. The exhibit was about 38 degrees with a wind chill factor of 27. As you can imagine, we were freezing. But before we walked in, Flores suited us up in jackets, pants and gloves.

"That's what most visitors can expect," he said. "We will provide the necessary clothing."
There are a few exceptions to entering. Visitors must be at least 8 years old and reservations must be made.
To get a glimpse of what the penguin interaction experience is like, check out the video link above.

For reservations: call (800) 700-7786 or visit the SeaWorld San Antonio website.

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South Georgia Island Penguin News July 2011

Three king penguin chicks continue to survive the winter at Penguin River. A very young female Weddell seal is a fairly frequent visitor to KE Cove this winter, her favorite hauling out spot is half way along the track to Grytviken and she is very relaxed when skiers stop to see her on their way to and from the slopes. Other rare visitors this month have been a leopard seal and a chinstrap penguin.

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Friday, August 12, 2011

Images of the Day (from Happy Feet Two)

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Thursday, August 11, 2011

The great penguin rescue

What can one person do to make a difference? Watch this video to learn what one person learned -- and did -- to help save a species

African penguins, Spheniscus demersus, Bristol Zoo, Bristol, England.

Image: Adrian Pingstone (public domain).

When an oil tanker sank off the coast from Cape Town, South Africa, earlier this year, it spilled 1,300 tonnes of fuel between Dassen and Robben Islands where half of the world's population of the endangered African penguin, Spheniscus demersus, breeds. Of course, as happens with these events, the tanker sank during the penguins' breeding season, coating tens of thousands of birds in crude oil -- a significant proportion of the remaining breeding population.
What to do with these birds? Predictably, the ongoing "kill or not to kill" controversy flared up again, but due to the location and timing of the spill and this species' endangered status, the stakes were higher than ever before. As always, some advocated killing the oiled birds.

"Kill, don't clean," German biologist, Silvia Gaus, had remarked after the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico one year earlier. "The survival rate of oil-soaked birds is under 1 percent."
Ms Gaus's comments outraged the public. Ms Gaus's comments outraged me, too, because when I investigated her assertion, I found Ms Gaus was wrong.

In the wake of this controversy, the largest animal rescue event in history mobilised to save tens of thousands of oiled birds. And in fact, more than 91% of the oiled penguins were successfully rehabilitated and released -- an amazing feat that could not have been accomplished without the tremendous international response that was generated. In this video, we hear from Dyan deNapoli, who spearheaded the response effort:

<iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zwjLQgNd7XM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Dyan "the Penguin Lady" deNapoli worked as the Senior Penguin Aquarist at Boston's New England Aquarium, where she hand-raised dozens of penguin chicks, presented daily programmes about penguins to aquarium visitors, and traveled the globe to work with penguin researchers in the field.
Now Ms deNapoli frequently writes on penguin topics and has served as the onboard penguin expert and guest lecturer on cruise ships visiting the Galapagos Islands and Antarctica. She estimates she has taught about 250,000 people in the US and abroad about penguins.

Dyan deNapoli is the author of the book, The Great Penguin Rescue: 40,000 Penguins, a Devastating Oil Spill, and the Inspiring Story of the World's Largest Animal Rescue [Amazon UK; Amazon US] and she can be found on facebook and twitter @ThePenguinLady

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Stephen Fry meets Happy Feet

11/08/2011

@stephenfry/Twitter

HAPPY FRY: Stephen Fry, who jumped at the chance to meet Happy Feet the emperor penguin while visiting Wellington Zoo.

British actor and Hobbit star Stephen Fry has been cooling his heels off set, hanging out with Happy Feet.
The British actor, in Wellington to film his role in The Hobbit, was granted access to the emperor penguin's makeshift ice-filled room.

Fry posted a picture of himself with the penguin on his twitter account.
Wellington Zoo spokeswoman Kate Baker said Fry had been at the zoo to do some filming with chimpanzees as he had been completing a programme for the BBC on language.
Zoo staff suggested he might like to meet Happy Feet, and Baker said he was "quite excited" to do so.
Happy Feet has been at the zoo since the end of June after being found thousands of kilometres from home on Peka Peka Beach.

His story has made him a household name and attracted headlines around the world.
Fry has also attracted headlines for the attention he has paid animals on his visits to New Zealand.
On his last trip, he and his BBC cameraman Mark Carwardine visited Codfish Island, later making Sirocco the kakapo a global internet sensation.
Their footage of Sirocco humping Cawardine's head raised the profile of one of our most endangered species around the world.

Happy Feet has been making good progress and vets believe he will be well enough to set free later this month.
He will be released in sub Antarctic waters between New Zealand and the Sub Antarctic Islands.

- The Dominion Post

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Lonely penguins given odd sand-sculpture friends

August 10, 2011

A group of penguins have been given sand-sculpture friends in a bid to console them after the departure of another group to whom they'd become attached.

Staff at Sea Life Weymouth say their 11 Humboldt penguins recently became friends with a group of Gentoo penguins with which they were temporarily homed.

But when the other penguins moved on to an aquarium in London the penguins became lonely, so bosses called in a artist to create penguin sculptures to keep them friends.

While staff say the nine sand-based Gentoo penguin created by Mark Anderson seem to be doing the trick and that the birds have stopped moping around, we think they'd have to be bird-brained to think they could be real…

Sea Life boss Craig Dunkerley said: "We really appreciated Mark's gesture," said and whether or not our Humboldt's are fooled by the incredibly lifelike sculptures, they certainly seem to have perked up."

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Penguin chicks move into creche at Edinburgh Zoo

The chicks have been moved into an area where they can learn to swim and feed before rejoining the main enclosure.

10 August 2011

http://files.stv.tv/img/articles/265656-penguin-chicks-move-into-creche-410x230.jpg

Penguins: The chicks have left the nest and are starting to swim. Pic: © Deadline

Penguin chicks at Edinburgh Zoo have moved into a special crèche as they learn to look after themselves.
The 57 Gentoo penguins were all born in the spring of this year and have been living in their nests.
Now they have been moved into their own area, complete with swimming pool, as they learn how to swim and feed.
The chicks will rejoin the main enclosure between now and September.
Bird team leader Colin Oulton said: “The crèche phase is something that occurs naturally in the wild, with chicks no longer remaining at the nest, but staying in the vicinity. We try to recreate this situation at Edinburgh Zoo’s penguin enclosure, which also allows the parents time to rest and rebuild their strength during their annual moult, which can be stressful for penguins.
“The chicks have settled well into the penguin crèche. It’s been a delight to see them bobbing around in the water and floating on their stomachs. The small shallow pool in the crèche is perfect place for the penguin chicks to take their first swim.
“They figure out pretty quickly how to take fish from the keepers and are now no longer relying on regurgitated food from mum and dad.”

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Image of the Day

201011171201_07567, a photo by RosieA100 on Flickr.

Almost there

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Typewriter Penguin

Typewriter Penguin

By John Farrier Aug 9, 2011

The great penguin rescue

Dyan deNapoli on TED.com

A personal story, a collective triumph: Dyan deNapoli tells the story of the world’s largest volunteer animal rescue, which saved more than 40,000 penguins after an oil spill off the coast of South Africa. How does a job this big get done? Penguin by penguin by penguin … (Recorded at TEDxBoston, June 2011, in Boston, Massachusetts. Duration: 11:44.)

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