Hitching a Ride: Happy Feet Heads Home

From: http://blogs.discovery.com/
 
Cruisin', Penguin-Style
He's an emperor penguin, now cruising like a king. Happy Feet, the wayward penguin who drifted thousands of miles off-course in June, landing in New Zealand instead of his Antarctic feeding grounds, is on his way to a cool homecoming. Traveling in customized crate, climate controlled to stay frosty with 60 buckets of ice, the penguin who embraced Wellington, New Zealand, is getting a lift on the research vessel Tangaroa. The Tangaroa, New Zealand's biggest such ship, was scheduled to travel into the freezing southern waters, researching numbers of fish to set fishing quotas. It seemed the perfect way to get Happy Feet to a place where he'll find friends and food, and perhaps start a family.
 

Since he arrived on a New Zealand beach more than two months ago, Happy Feet has gone from lost traveler to local celebrity. Originally, observers left him alone, figuring he'd make his way back into the sea and turn around. But he remained on the shore, consuming sand that he mistook for snow. Poor guy gobbled more than six pounds of twigs and sand, which the staff at the Wellington Zoo removed after seeing how weak Happy had become. The caring staff nursed him back to health, keeping him very cool and serving perfect penguin meals, from plain delicious fish to seafood smoothies, which made Happy, well, happy.
As he gained weight and displayed a more confident attitude, the big question was what would happen to Happy Feet, and whether he was healthy enough to be released in his native waters. But Lisa Argilla, one of the vets who helped Happy get well, said he is "definitely a survivor," and has a stronger attitude

 than when he arrived at the zoo, listless, with poor feather condition. He's gained weight (lots of calories in those smoothies!) and he's been cleared for a return to the wild. He's now wearing a GPS tracker, so we all can monitor his progress. Karen Fifield, the zoo's chief executive, said that the 3-foot-tall penguin "brought a lot of hope and joy to people. His story has driven to the heart of what makes us human."
Almost Home!
Happy Feet's stay at the Wellington Zoo cost a bit more than a hotel, but the $28,000 was covered by donations from those who were charmed by the penguin. During his recovery, they followed his activities on a zoo web-cam. And on Sunday, just before Happy Feet said Bon Voyage to his temporary home, more than 1700 visitors hovered outside the glassed-in area where the zoo staff administered Happy's last medical checks.
Happy Feet boarded the Tangaroa on Monday, relaxing now and dining on fish. Sometime Thursday, when the ship reaches a latitude of 51 degrees south, skipper Richard O'Driscoll will cut the engines. Then, at the drop-off spot, Happy Feet will be released into the water, making a little splash via a makeshift canvas slide. His departure from the Wellington Zoo left his friends there with bittersweet feelings: sad to see him go, but hopeful he'll find new adventures in a cool clime, and will not return to New Zealand, no matter how much he enjoyed the hospitality. Happy Journey, Happy Feet!

Socially Awkward Penguin

Best Friends!!

From: http://freepostia.com/

Bald Penguin Gets a Wetsuit (Video)

From Animal Planet's Weird, True and Freaky series, here's a video about an unfortunate African penguin with a mysterious condition that has caused him to lose his feathers. In the animal world, sometimes different is bad, and this poor little guy wasn't faring so well with the other dominant penguins.

In the wild, he wouldn't have lasted very long. Fortunately for him, his caretakers came up with an ingenious solution to his strange condition.

Penguin Fun

Ticklish Baby Penguin

Ticklish Penguin - Watch more Funny Videos

cute ticklish baby penguin.. WARNING..EXTREME ..CUTENESS
a short clip of a video posted by MiAAmstew .. Cookie the Little Penguin at the Cincinnati Zoo


Penguin Goes Shopping

Uploaded by RioCatz on Feb 10, 2011

VIDEO credit: Real TV
Background Music: Scott Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag

Backstory: Years ago (circa 1996) Lala's family rescued him from a fishing line and when he was fully recovered, he refused to leave. He's been the family pet ever since. This video was filmed in 2006 when LaLa was 10 years old.

Animal Planet's video: http://www.hostedfile.com/videos/4633/japanese-penguin-goes-shopping.html

If anyone could assist with the complete story details of LaLa as well as if he's still alive and where if he's no longer with the Nishimoto family, please message me and I'll post this information within the description. Please cite your sources for reference to lend further credit to the story.

Even Penguins Need to Stretch Their Legs on Long Flights

From: http://blogs.discovery.com/

Everyone knows that penguins can't fly, but that doesn't mean that they don't need to get up and stretch their legs on long, cross-country flights.

Similar to the television appearances that I do on behalf of National Wildlife Federation, my friend Julie Scardina of SeaWorld goes on TV with live animals to help educate and inspire people to protect wildlife.

Sometimes, the animals for a TV segment that is being shot in Los Angeles or New York City have to be flown in from other parts of the country.

In the case of penguins, Julie and the SeaWord animal trainers have struck a deal with the airlines that not only gets the birds out of their travel crates on these flights but also gives the human passengers a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

One such passenger captured the experience on a cell phone video.

And here's a similar video with a comedic voiceover provided by none other than "David Attenborough" himself!

Sadly, many penguins species are on the decline, in large part due to the effects of global climate change.

Photo of penguins by Adam Foster via Flickr Creative Commons.

Happiest Penguin Ever

Festo's flying AirPenguin robot induces daydreaming beyond the sea (video)

By: Richard Lai
From: http://www.engadget.com/

Penguins. Such graceful creatures. Mommy never told us why these birds don't fly, but here's proof that this won't be a concern for our little 'uns. What you're looking at is the Festo AirPenguin's rare appearance outside its German labs -- the Gotengo-esque airship is at The Gadget Show Live in Birmingham, UK this week. Sure, this baby's a bit old, but being up close and personal with it is way more sensational than watching the mere 40-second-long segment from last time, and at least we now know it's the real deal. Video after the break.

Festo's bionic AirPenguin robot doesn't blow bubbles, but will blow your mind

Bald penguin given wetsuit to prevent sunburn

When Ralph the penguin lost his feathers it looked like he wouldn't be able to swim with his friends at Marwell Wildlife - until he was fitted for a mini wetsuit to stop him getting sunburn.

Unlike all his fellow Humboldt penguins, who lose their old feathers over a few weeks to make way for a fresh set, Ralph's fell out in just one day.

And with nothing to protect him from the weather he was at risk of severe sun burn.

He faced spending a depressing three weeks indoors, away from his group and his young chicks.

But keepers took pity on him and fashioned his own wetsuit from the leg of a suit which was donated by a member of staff's husband.

The nine-year-old penguin couldn't be happier with his new clothes, which have caused a stir at his enclosure in Marwell Wildlife, near Winchester, Hants.

Helen Jeffreys, from Marwell Wildlife, said: "Ralph's really taken to his new suit, he's doing really well.

"He doesn't really seem to notice the difference - he's swimming around the enclosure with all the other penguins as usual.

"It's not inhibiting him in any way and it's not bothering him. He's just getting on with his daily business.

"All the other penguins, on the other hand, were intrigued by his new clothes they spent a good while checking him out.

"But when they realised it was still Ralph under the suit they seemed quite happy and don't really pay it any attention anymore."

When penguins moult over a period of around three weeks every year their old feathers are replaced with a new, clean set.

But Ralph has baffled keepers by losing all his feathers in just one day, leaving him strangely bald apart from his head.

David White, who is assistant manager of Penguin World at Marwell, said he and colleagues thought about covering Ralph in suncream before hitting on the wetsuit idea.

Mr White, 31, said: "We noticed he was getting pink and feared suncream would just wash off so we decided to try to make him a wetsuit.

"We used the leg of a man's wetsuit and cut a holes in it for his head and wings.

"It works really well. We thought he would try to peck it off but Ralph seems to love it.

"He's been bombing around in it and acting like a normal penguin, although the others have been giving him a few odd looks. I think they might actually want one now.

"It's certainly a strange sight and Ralph must be the first scuba penguin but he seems so at ease that we've been thinking maybe we should get him a mask and snorkel as well.

"Ralph is perfectly healthy so we don't know why his feathers all drop out at once.

"If we hadn't come up with the wetsuit we would have had to keep him inside to stop him burning.

"That would have made him really miserable because penguins are such sociable creatures. This way he can happily mess around with the rest of the group."

Ralph will now wear his suit for around three weeks while his new feathers grow.

Miss Jeffreys added: "Ralph was so bald he was at real risk of getting sunburned on a sunny day.

"In the past the keepers have kept him indoors for around three weeks until his new feathers have come through.

"But that wasn't any fun for him. He couldn't be with his group and this year he's got two chicks to look after so we just couldn't separate them.

"One of the keepers had the idea of making him his very own wetsuit.

"The material is perfect because it allowed him to go into the water and it's flexible so he could still use his flippers and allow him to have a scratch.

"The keepers didn't have any trouble getting the suit on him - Ralph didn't mind at all."

Visitors are already flocking in to his enclosure to see Ralph parading around.

Miss Jeffreys said: "All the visitors are fascinated by Ralph's clothes - he's causing a bit of a stir.

"He's the only one out of 30 penguins with a special suit so he certainly stands out.

"We get lots of questions from them - they want to know what he's wearing and why or ask if he's a new breed!

"Everyone has commented on how cute he looks. He's certainly become a favourite and I think he'll become a bit of a star now."

Humboldt penguins are native to South America, breeding in coastal Peru and Chile.

They can live for around 30 years in captivity.

Huge Colony of Penguins Surrounding a Lone Elephant Seal

ngm.nationalgeographic.com — Almost surreal scene, especially when pic is enlarged. Really nice image.