Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Yikes! Be careful out there!


The Daily Mail is showing astonishing pictures taken by nature photographer Paul Nicklen, which show a leopard seal hunting for penguin meat along the edges of Antarctic ice.

Unfortunately for the penguin shown above, the seal has found its prey.

Monday, October 29, 2007

The ice-hoppers

Photo by Maria Stenzel. Her comment, "I was shooting from the boat, on an unusually calm, sunny morning. Weaving among the icebergs, we could see chinstraps everywhere, many of them perched on the ice, resting from feeding or, in the case of juveniles, probably just hanging out. They are incredible athletes, able to scale the steepest of slopes, digging into the ice with their crampon-like claws."

The South Sandwich Islands are home to the world’s largest colony of chinstrap penguins. Every summer, two million or so pairs arrive on the island of Zavodovski. They immediately start mating and laying eggs. This gives them time to raise their chicks before winter. They fatten the chicks on krill, small prawn-like crustaceans in the sea, before winter comes and the ocean freezes over.

Entry in Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Video: The Madagascar Penguins

The Madagascar penguins.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Wooden Penguin Walker


Wooden Penguin Walker

Place the penguin on the top of the slide and watch the penguin walk down the ramp.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

10,000 penguins come to shore

Photo: Daily Mail

It is one of the most extraordinary sights in nature: more than 10,000 King Penguins standing shoulder to shoulder at St Andrew's bay on the island of South Georgia, preparing to breed.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Penguin Squeezie Stress Relief



Penguin Squeezie Stress Relief

Penguin Squeezie is a penguin buddy that is here to help. Let off some stress or just strengthen your grip by giving this strong foam penguin a good squeezing. He instantly bounces back for more penguin squeezing fun. This penguin is approximately 4 inches tall.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Aromatherapy Penguin


Warm Whiskers Pocket Critters Penguin

Warm Whiskers’ Pocket Critter Penguin is lightly scented with lavender and chamomile, and when briefly heated in a microwave, it stays warm for ten minutes. This little critter is a nice warm-up for small, cold hands!

Monday, October 22, 2007

Video: Penguin Fashion Show

Penguins dressed as Christmas elves and runway modeling in a Japanese "funny animals" TV clip.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

New penguins arrive in Galveston at Moody Gardens

Galveston Island is getting some new residents and they showed up all the way from Canada.

The new islanders are a group of penguins from Biodome de Montreal. They are six Macaroni, five Gentoo and four Rock Hopper penguins.

"Adding these penguins will make for a more diverse collection, and will bring the total number of birds to 90," said Diane Olsen, assistant curator at Moody Gardens. "Our exhibit will also more closely mimic nature in the sub Antarctic."

The new penguins have been in a month long quarantine and now will join the penguins already in the South Atlantic exhibit.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Penguin Poop



"Penguin Poop" - Chocolate Candy

Are you struggling to find a penguin gift for the person that has everything? How about one of our famous jars of "Penguin Poop"? Besides being a fantastic penguin conversation piece, the chocolate rock candy really tastes great. Why not buy a case and stock up for that long hard penguin winter?

Friday, October 19, 2007

Penguin Slippers



Waddle around with cozy feet thanks to these soft, plush penguins.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

A penguin's eye view

Rodney the emperor penguin, equipped with a National Geographic Crittercam, gets ready to dive beneath the Antarctic ice.

Scientists were puzzled until recently by how Antarctica’s emperor penguins, stars of the 2005 documentary March of the Penguins, had adapted their feeding strategies to melting habitats threatening to endanger them. From above ground it seemed little had changed.

The Crittercam revealed that the penguins were diving deep under ice caps, using sunlight to spot small fish, and shooting up to catch them.

The Crittercam has already been used over 500 times on small whales, sharks, sea turtles and emperor penguins, and has changed the assumptions scientists had made about how those animals communicate, hunt, feed and nurse. More than 50 scientists attended the symposium this weekend to share how they have used Crittercam technology in their work.

Photo: Greg Marshall/National Geographic

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Penguins 'fish with friends'

Penguins make friends with each other and team up when they go on fishing trips, research has revealed.

Little penguins, the smallest penguin species, have been observed crossing the beach in groups of about five to ten as they go on long trips to find food for their chicks.

It is thought this grouping makes them less vulnerable to attacks from predators, but researchers led by Andre Chiaradia of the Philip Island Nature Park in Australia decided to see whether the penguins seek to choose particular fishing partners.

They found that middle-aged animals did tend to team up with the same penguins on different trips. However when fish were less scarce the birds were not so keen to fish with friends, suggesting they wanted to fish alone to avoid sharing food.

(via)

Plush Penny Penguin Cell Phone Cover

Fun Friends™ Plush Animal Cell Phone Covers are cute and stretch to fit most flip style cell phones. Made of the highest quality fabrics and materials, these adorable plush cell phone covers are a great gift or stocking stuffer for family and friends. Soft to the touch, these cute creatures are the perfect accessory for your cell phone.

Monday, October 15, 2007

365 Penguins

365 Penguins - In this oversize picture book from France, family members deal with penguins that arrive at their home -- one a day, for a full year.

The highjinks begin on New Year's Day. As the penguin population increases, Dad, Mom, and the kids use multiplication and a few other schemes to organize, feed, and care for the increasing number of birds, but the scheme they hatch only meets with temporary success.

(via)

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Penguin Mom & Chick Picture Frame


Penguin Mom & Chick Picture Frame

Penguin Penguins Mother & Chick 4x6 Photo Picture Frame. A lovely gift for new parents, or just about any penguin lover! Designed to hold a 4 x 6 vertical photo.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Penguin March Brings Smiles To Sick Kids

The halls of Rady Children's Hospital were filled with smiles and giggles Friday, as two of SeaWorld's resident penguins led the patients on a march down the hallways.

The children, patients of the Hematology/Oncology unit, are too fragile to attend the water park's upcoming "Shamu and You Family Walk," so SeaWorld brought the animals to them.

Friday, October 12, 2007

Tiffany Penguin Accent Lamp


Tiffany Penguin Accent Lamp
This adorable penguin accent lamp is created from ebony and winter white stained art glass with eyes that are made of glistening glass jewels.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Rappin Penguin


Rappin Penguin

Entertain and amuse your family and holiday guests with this animated penguin that sings a rap version of "Jingle Bells" as he flaps his wings, moves his beak and sways to the music. Plush creature features sunglasses and a silver, snowflake bling-bling. Activate the rap by pushing the button on the penguin's left wing.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Video: Tap dancing penguins

Tap dancing penguins from Mary Poppins

Hmmmm .... there's this, too

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Old photo


The photo album of the Zoological Society of London, which has been running London Zoo for almost 180 years, is accessible online. Photographs of the historic zoo dating from the 19th century through to astonishing images of the present day can be viewed at www.zsl.org/printstore, bringing the Zoo’s history to life through the web.

Monday, October 8, 2007

Marzipan Penguins


Get instructions here.

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust

The Yellow-eyed penguin is a black and white bird with distinct yellow eye stripes. It is a very secretive bird that nests away from others amongst dense vegetation normally raising two chicks every year.

This unique penguin is found only along New Zealands south islands' eastern coastline, as far north as Banks Peninsula and as far south as Stewart Island and beyond to Campbell Island.

In the 1980s research on the Otago Peninsula showed that the penguin population had declined severely, and that the yellow-eyed penguin was now considered to be an endangered species. This was due to severe predation and loss of habitat.

In 1987 Dunedin conservationists formed the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust with the aim of saving the penguin by restoring coastal forest and controlling predators. The penguin is the focus but the Trust's efforts also benefit other native species of plant and animal.

The Trust is based in Dunedin but manages land and penguin interests in the whole of mainland New Zealand.

The Trust's first twenty years have seen the penguin population increase, yet they are still a long way from being a self-sustaining population.

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Video: Brokeback Penguin

Funny spoof on the movie Brokeback Mountain - with penguins.

Friday, October 5, 2007

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Smarten Up



Photography by Evy Johansen

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Penguin Shower Radio



Penguin Shower Radio

Take this handsome Penguin Radio with you into the bath or shower and listen to the top 40 countdown, sing all the latest tunes, or hear the football results.

With powerful suction pads stick this penguin onto your bathroom tiles or windows and you need never be bored again while you wash!

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Video: Hands off!

This penguin doesn't like to be touched!

(via)

Monday, October 1, 2007