For the most part, penguins look almost identical, making it very difficult to determine their sex. However during mating season the males sometimes leave muddy footprints on the back of their female mates, making it much easier to tell the sexes apart.
Though you might be thinking pasta, the macaroni penguin received its name for a very different reason. The bird’s bright yellow crest reminded British sailors in the early 1800s of a flamboyant style popular in England at the time called maccaronism. Individuals who adopted this style were often referred to as macaronis; and thus the name stuck.
Photo: Jerzy Strzelecki
Macaroni penguins are thought to be the most abundant species of penguin on earth, with an estimated breeding population of over eleven million pairs. They can be found in and around the southern tip of South America, northern Antarctica and many chains of islands stretching east to South Africa.
Photo: Jerzy Strzelecki
Macaroni penguins are closely related to royal penguins. They are very social animals that often live in colonies of up to 100,000 individuals. Macaroni penguins primarily feed on Antarctic krill during the breeding season, but also hunt a wide variety of other crustaceans, squid and fish. Though still very numerous, macaroni penguins are now classified as vulnerable due to population decline over the last thirty years.
Wildlife officials had originally planned to leave the young penguin alone in the hopes that his natural instincts would guide him back home. However, intervention was deemed necessary after the confused bird ingested over 7 pounds of beach sand and sticks, likely mistaking it for the snow he would usually eat to stay hydrated.
After being transported to the Wellington Zoo, the penguin, affectionately named Happy Feet, underwent three medical procedures to remove debris from his stomach and had since been living in a special temporary habitat while he regained weight and strength.
Today, Happy Feet is finally headed home as a passenger aboard the New Zealand oceanic research ship Tangaroa. An iced-down compartment and a diet of fish will keep him comfortable on the four day journey back to his native range. He will be released into the water by using a special slide or inflatable boat depending on his mood and the weather.
Fans of Happy Feet shouldered much of the cost of the penguin’s two month stay, donating over $28,000 to cover care and feeding costs. Happy Feet is currently wearing a GPS tracking device to allow scientists to keep tabs on his progress. As emperor penguins can live for up to 50 years, we are all wishing Happy Feet a long and happy life back home.
People were shocked this past Tuesday morning on Peka Peka Beach in New Zealand when an Emperor Penguin came waddling out of the water. Somehow this penguin, whose natural habitat is Antarctica, ended up 4000 miles away on New Zealand’s north island. Wildlife experts assume that the bird got disoriented while hunting for food in the ocean, and may have made much of the journey on an ice floe. This is the country’s first wild penguin sighting in over 40 years.
Conservationists originally decided that it would be best to not interfere and hope that the penguin, estimated to be about 10 months old, would find its way back home. However, the penguin has recently been taken to a zoo hospital, as it has become ill from eating wet sand, mistaking it for snow.
The penguin has been named Happy (after the movie Happy Feet), and everyone is hoping he’ll be healthy enough to be released soon.
A Santa Barbara Zoo-based penguin named Lucky finally got some relief recently after being fitted with a special protective boot made by adventure footwear company Teva, according to Noozehawk.
The one-year-old Humboldt penguin was born with an impaired foot, which is not uncommon according to zookeepers. As young penguins spend much of their time huddled beneath their parents, they can often develop splayed feet. However, when Lucky did not respond to treatment the zoo took action, enlisting Teva to create a specialized boot to allow him to get around more easily.
Lucky has responded well to the new footwear, and is now able to swim and socialize with no issues.
And we think we’ve got it hard! Emperor penguins breed during the long, Antarctic winter. Once an egg is laid, the female penguin begins a long search for food, which can sometimes take up to 50 miles over a two-month period! The male penguin stays behind to protect the egg, which he keeps on his feet, covered with a feathered flap. He doesn’t eat anything the entire time, and some fathers lose up to 25 pounds. Once the egg hatches, the male feeds the chick a special liquid from his throat. When the mother penguin returns with a belly full of food, she regurgitates to feed her new chick. And the male emperor is relieved of duty, off to find food and some much-needed rest.
One more emperor penguin fact: They can dive up to 1,850 feet — more than any other bird — and stay under water for more than 20 minutes.
Almost 400 penguins that had mysteriously washed up on Brazil's beaches were transported south on an air force jet Saturday. The International Fund for Animal Welfare said that the penguin release was the largest ever in South America. Experts hope a small group of older penguins released along with the young ones will help guide them south to the Patagonia.
Magellanic penguins breed in large colonies in southern Argentina and Chile and migrate north as far as southwest Brazil between March and September.
Environmentalists say it is not known why the penguins were stranded so far north, but some suggest the birds could have been carried beyond their usual range by a flow of warm water.
Penguins are the only birds that migrate by swimming. But not all penguins swim during their migration. The Emperor Penguin does not stray far from the permanent Antarctic ice and when breeding season arrives they come ashore and begin their long "march" to one of 35 known rookeries. Passing in single file, the adult Emperor Penguins will travel anywhere from 30 to 100 miles - on foot! - before arriving at their breeding grounds. During the months required to lay and incubate the egg and raise the chick, the male and female adult penguins undertake this "March" numerous times.
There is a wonderful film that chronicles this amazing migration. It is called, "March of the Penguins."
I just love that song from the Jungle Book movie, but I won't sing it for you... So instead this week we'll talk about some bear facts. We'll start with the largest bear, the polar bear.
The polar bear Latin name is Ursus Maritimus, which means “sea bear.” They can swim at about 6 miles per hour. Their paws are so big they function like snowshoes. Watch a mother and her two half-grown cubs in action as they walk across the snow in this video.
Polar bear live in the arctic, the Northern Hemisphere. Some commercials and cartoons show polar bears and penguins together, but in real life that would never happen since they live on opposite ends of the earth.
Orcas, or killer whales, have striking black and white markings. You, like me, may have seen them perform at places like Sea World. Aren’t they beautiful?
Orca are carnivorous hunters and are sometimes called "the wolf of the sea." They prey on sea lions, elephant seals, harbor seals, porpoises, squid, sharks, fish, penguins, smaller whales, such as belugas and narwhals, and even large baleen whales.
Orca actually belong to the dolphin family. Warm blooded, males (bulls) average 19-22 feet and usually weigh between 8,000-12,000 pounds. Females (cows) are smaller, averaging 16-19 feet, weighing between 3,000-8,000 pounds.
Some day I’d like to be close enough to see one in the ocean. But for now this incredible video from National Geographic will have to do!
Penguins have been a very popular item at The Jungle Store. With the recent movies on penguins, the popularity has been huge. Find penguin and many other great animal gifts at The Jungle Store.
All wild penguins live south of the equator. And despite popular belief, not all wild penguins live in cold climates such as Antarctica. Few actually live that far south, with most wild penguins inhabiting more mild climates. One species, the Galapagos Penguin, actually lives close to the equator.
And we think we’ve got it hard! Emperor penguins breed during the long, Antarctic winter. Once an egg is laid, the female penguin begins a long search for food, which can sometimes take up to 50 miles over a two-month period! The male penguin stays behind to protect the egg, which he keeps on his feet, covered with a feathered flap. He doesn’t eat anything the entire time, and some fathers lose up to 25 pounds. Once the egg hatches, the male feeds the chick a special liquid from his throat. When the mother penguin returns with a belly full of food, she regurgitates to feed her new chick. And the male emperor is relieved of duty, off to find food and some much-needed rest.
Almost 400 penguins that had mysteriously washed up on Brazil's beaches were transported south on an air force jet Saturday. The International Fund for Animal Welfare said that the penguin release was the largest ever in South America. Experts hope a small group of older penguins released along with the young ones will help guide them south to the Patagonia.
There is a wonderful film that chronicles this amazing migration. It is called, "March of the Penguins."
