A couple of rockhoppers enjoying some play in the snow.
Australia’s first Antarctic penguin rookery planned for next March
Wow. Now here’s a massive undertaking: A 32,000 square foot addition to the Melbourne Aquarium costing $20.6 million to expand its penguin exhibits to house Antarctic penguins. They say they’re going to try to re-create an Antarctic environment for the penguins, which will be Kings and Gentoos. Along with the penguins, they will be introducing some Antarctic fish and marine invertebrates.
“What we are trying to do is give the guest an experience and a visual representation of what a visit to Antarctica might be like. You will see snow, you will have a sense of cold, and you will see some iconic Antarctic imagery — so obviously ice will have some representation in the theme.
– Rob Taranto, Melbourne Aquarium Manager
In addition to Australia, the aquarium’s parent company plans to expand in Toronto, Prague, and Dubai. The Newport Aquarium in Kentucky currently has King and Gentoo penguins but I’m fairly interested in how this new addition will look like to re-create their environment. For the folks in Australia, this should be an interesting development.
The Penguin Lady
I stumbled upon this article today and it’s a very interesting read. It’s about penguin expert Dyan de Napoli. The article tells of how she got started working with penguins and her career thus far, from volunteering at the New England Aquarium, being hired on, going to Africa to save them from an oil spill, and sharing knowledge and experiences with the public.
Sometimes I feel like I would like to work with penguins to do my part to help with something. Right now, my family comes first but maybe when the kids are all out of the house and off to college, I will see about volunteering at the local aquarium on weekends or something like that. Currently, I try to educate my children about penguins when I find the opportunities to do so. I’m only up to trying to get them to recognize the different species. I’m sure they’ll catch on eventually though. My daughter seems to embrace my obsession the most and I hope that I can leave a lasting impression on her to do some good in her future.
“I think if we start when they’re young and give children an appreciation for the environment, then when they get old enough to understand what’s going on, they’ll feel empowered to do something about it. One person can make a difference.”
– Dyan de Napoli
Friday Video: Yellow-eyed & Fairy Penguins
For today’s weekly video, yellow-eyed penguins from a distance and little blues close-up. The lighting for the fairy penguins is that way for the penguin parade that happens every sunset. The penguins aren’t too interested in the people since they’re getting back to their colonies to feed their young.
Celebrity Penguin: Feathers McGraw
Wallace & Gromit has always been an interesting animation itself, but one of its frequent characters is interesting in his own right. Feathers McGraw is a malevolent & sinister little penguin with an obsession with diamonds. It seems that Feathers is always cooking up a grand scheme to pull off his latest heist. His most prominent appearance was in The Wrong Trousers where he takes a keen interest in a pair of electronic pants, modifying them in order to steal a giant diamond from a museum. He’s even shown as a master of disguise by wearing a red rubber glove on his head, disguising himself as a chicken. Alas, his plans are destined to fail as antagonists’ plans usually do. Feathers has also made cameos in other Wallace & Gromit episodes and even the computer generated cartoon ReBoot. This devious penguin could very well make it into the evil villain hall of fame, if there ever was one.
Devious and determined is Feathers McGraw. An inspiration to you would-be super villains. Learn from his cunning.
Filed under Penguin, Television
Friday Video – Flying Fairy Penguin
This is an excellent example showing how penguins can fly. They’re actually very agile when under the water. Look at it go! I’m amazed this person was able to keep up with it. Awesome.
Penguin Geek 