Cute song about a penguin who is tired of the same old scenery of the Antarctic and longs to be a bird who can fly anywhere. Lyrics are past the break in French and English.
Shanghai zoo feeds garlic to penguins
SHANGHAI, China: As if fish-breath wasn’t bad enough.Keepers at Shanghai’s zoo are feeding the penguins garlic to help ward off respiratory problems and other illnesses during the Chinese financial center’s long, humid, summer rainy season, local media reported Wednesday.
Penguins are highly sensitive to a mold that grows in their enclosure, and in past rainy seasons some have become weak and sick after ingesting it.
Garlic helps fortify their respiratory systems, as well as protect their intestines and stomach, the Shanghai Morning Post said.
Getting them to eat it isn’t easy, however, since garlic isn’t part of their natural diet and penguins tend to be picky about their food.
Zoo keepers have to stuff three to four cloves of garlic per bird in the fish they regularly feed on, the reports said.
Keepers have also arranged two sun baths per day to keep the rainy day blues at bay, they said.
There’s an interesting concept, feeding garlic to penguins. Yeah, I can’t imagine they would want to eat it straight from their hands. I wonder if other zoos and aquariums have thought of doing this as there had some recent penguin deaths due to respiratory problems, molds, and toxins.
Baby Penguins in Chicago Exhibit
CHICAGO, July 3 (UPI) — Staff at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago said a successful penguin breeding season resulted in the births of three new chicks. The oldest of the Gentoo chicks, designated 220, was 26 days old Tuesday, the Chicago Tribune reported. The two younger chicks were 16 and 8 days old Tuesday.
The three penguins are on display at the aquarium’s penguin exhibit, but only 220 is immediately noticeable, as the younger two are still being kept nestled beneath their parents for warmth.
“You can literally take a picture of them every day and watch them grow,” said Gretchen Freimuth, a senior trainer at Shedd. She said 220 still has its gray baby feathers but its wings and feet have grown to a point that implies it may soon enter its awkward phase.
She said 220’s father does a good job of setting his young next to the food bucket every day, but some other parents require assistance from staff to keep their babies healthy.
“Inexperienced parents sometimes don’t know how much food to regurgitate to the chicks,” Freimuth said.
Penguin Mothers
My wife found this comic for me. It’s from May 11, 2003, from PartiallyClips.com. An interesting take on penguins feeding their young and questions about their fuzzy appearance. Click the image below for the full size comic.
Rise of the Penguin Surfer
With the theater releases of the new Fantastic Four movie and Surf’s Up, someone created a mash up trailer of both. I’m amused. ;-)
Macaroni Penguin in colored pencil
Saw this at About.com:
Macaroni Penguin in colored pencilRactelbeast writes: This is the first time I have ever tried to draw with colored pencil, and it was kind of like an experiment for me. I am definitely a beginner as I have never taken a drawing/art course. I am unsure if art is something that I would like to pursue but I would appreciate any criticism or helpful hints.
Penguin Geek 