copyright Lynda Lo-Hill 2001 |
This is what we saw when we returned
just after Christmas.
In the very center of the photo is a short fuzzy penguin. That is a juvenile. He/she is in front of its two parents. It is less than two weeks old. A few other juveniles are in the exhibit, but are hard to see because they already have matured into their adult feathers. |
 We
spent some time just sitting and watching the birds, and got to learn a
bit about their socialization and their actions.
Both the male and the female parent are the
epitomy of what we call "doeding parents"; they muss and fuss over the
youngster constantly. They don't eat at all during the hatching period.
All they do is check and feed.
|
 |
King Wai and I answered
a skill testing question correctly and got to go backstage and meet some
of the penguins in person.
One that looked just like this one, a macaroni penguin, was very curious and came right over to look at us and see what was going on. The bird had no fear and was very social. We gave it a pet on the head. Its feathers felt wet and stiff, kind of like a wet dog, and of course it smelt fishy. |
 |
 |
 |
The juveniles can look very different from the mature penguins. However they mature very quickly in order to survive predators and begin to look like adults within six to eight weeks. |
 |
Penguins are very social creatures. We noticed them fighting, playing and generally interacting regularily. Unlike many animals in a zoo, I don't think penguins mind being confined to a small space, with alot of other birds because they actually like being in tight groups. |
Home
Sea
World has managed to sucessfull breed penguins in captivity, something
that is very difficult to do. They realized that they had to convert
the atriums to Southern Hemisphere lighting, and have short days during
our summer and long days during our winter. Somehow, along with a
few other tricks, this got the birds mating and.......babies galore. 