Penguins new home in San Francisco

It was moving day this week in San Francisco for the flock of 20 penguins, Spheniscus demersus, natives of South Africa and Namibia. After four years of living in a temporary exhibit while the natural history museum built a new $488 million home at the California Academy of Sciences, the black-and-white birds are now settling into their bright new space.

After the new museum opens on Sept. 27, visitors will be able to view the penguins through an acrylic wall at the end of a long hall of African dioramas -- scenes with stuffed animals and painted backdrops. The penguins, visible both preening on the rocks and swimming under water, will provide a lively contrast to the eerie stillness of the stuffed lions and antelope.

Source: Bloomberg News

Video: Penguin vs. Pelican

Galapagos penguins herding fish together have their hard work interrupted by some greedy pelicans. But the pelicans get more than they bargained for.




Watch video

Penguin Lollipops

Frosted Penguin Suckers. These polar penguin lollipops will add some fun to party goody bags and Perfect for candy dishes and treat jars! Each 2" sucker is on a 3" stick. Mixed fruit flavor. Individually wrapped. Fat-free.

$5.95 for 12 at Oriental Trading

Penguin Charm

Gold Penguin Charm
Finely crafted small hollow penguin pendant in 14kt yellow gold. Made in Italy.

$69.96 at Shop.com

Rejected baby penguin finds a mom

For the past few weeks, Caitlin Hume and fellow New England Aquarium biologist Heather Urquhart have been mothering a 22oz Little Blue Penguin that was rejected by its parents after a difficult hatching.

Little Blue Penguins are native to Australia and New Zealand.

Each night, the two surrogate mums delicately pack the baby - covered in soft, grey-blue down - into a plastic cooler. Inside, the bird rests comfortably, swaddled in a white towel for the car ride home.

Once home, the still-unnamed chick - which was just about to turn 37 days old - waits in the guest room until Hume prepares a baby formula of herring fillet and prawn-like krill that goes into a blender and is heated to about 37 Celsius. The pungent meal, resembling a chocolate shake, is fed to the penguin four times a day using a syringe with a special tip.

After dinner, the penguin enjoys a long nap - not unlike a human baby.

"After you feed him, he'll make some peeping noises for a while, and then he goes to sleep," said Hume. "And then he's out cold until the next feeding" around 5 am.

Source: The Age

Looking for penguins?

penguin salt and pepper shakers

matching ceramic salt and pepper shakers
penguin design painted with heat-fused ceramic paint

$8.00 at etsy :: toniannewolfe

Unhappy ending to penguin’s epic feat

Wildlife experts are amazed at an Antarctic penguin’s 4000km journey to a Geraldton, Australia beach.

The exhausted male King Penguin was first spotted swimming at a Coronation Bay beach, about 20km north of the city.

Department of Environment and Conservation workers checked the uninjured penguin as it rested on the beach.

The next morning it was found dead and headless.

Wildlife experts believe the chubby penguin may have fallen prey to a fox but a cruel human attack has not been ruled out.

DEC supervising wildlife officer Peter Lambert said yesterday that the penguin was several thousand kilometres off course.

Mr Lambert said it had probably become displaced from its sub-Antarctic breeding colony after being swept across the Southern Ocean in a frontal system.

Source: The West Australian

Penguin Swim Goggles

Children's Character Goggles make swimming fun with playful designs for boys and girls. Features comfortable watertight silicone gasket designs, easy adjust side clips and split silicone headstrap. Small, uni-body frame is designed specially for children. Safe, shatter resistant lenses are anti-fog and UV protected.

$10.00 at Triathlete

Penguin bento

You can read more about bento at Kyaraben: Japanese Character Lunch Boxes

Penguin Dumplings

"Penguin Dumplings" uploaded by wEnDaLicious

Penguins for your walls

Baby Penguins stretched wall art by Avalisa

Avalisa modern wall art brings bold graphics and delightful colors to any space of contemporary home. Children and adults as well are drawn to simple and colorful designs.

Designs are printed on fabric and hand-stretched on 1 ½” deep stretcher bars.

Designs come ready to hang. Choose a color and a size.

from $59.00 at Skimbaco

Penguins for lunch

"Smorgasbord penguins" uploaded by sparkleneely

Penguin Alarm Clock

Wake up to this perky penguin, quartz alarm clock. 4". This Penguin Alarm Clock will also make a terrific decorative touch for children's room.

$24.95 at Whales & Friends

Penguin Table Lamp

Two plump little penguins take a break to warm their frosty flippers, basking in the golden glow from the patterned fabric ''northern lights'' shade above.

$39.95 at Novelty Phones

Penguin Singing

"Penguin Singing" uploaded by bbum

You meet the strangest people . . .

This is General Jackson, GJ for short, a Basset Hound, who lives in the Falkland Islands. GJ writes a blog about his globe-trotting adventures, but that's not what today's story is about.

Today's story is about a walk the other day. GJ was trotting along the path, investigating things that needed it and minding his own business when there and behold there blocking his way was a penguin!


It was a bit embarrassing really as GJ was not sure what to do.


The penguin seemed to be doing his morning exercises. Or was he just trying to impress GJ?



GJ thinks that with some practice he might be able to twist his neck like that.


Finally, GJ did manage to squeeze past the penguin while trying not to disturb him.

Penguin MoPod

We've seen some weird and wonderful cell phone accessories in our time but MoPods really take the cake. Why? Well for starters these funky little wearable characters live in transparent domes. But more importantly, they spin and flash when your cell receives a call or text.

Wear your MoPod as a kind of charm on bags, belts, clothing, key rings, or even the phone itself. MoPods come in handy if you're in a noisy bar or you like to crank up the music in your car, but they also make great desktop/work companions - especially if your phone is in silent mode.

Several characters to choose from including a penguin, kitten, monster and devil.

$9.95 at firebox.com

Penguin sweet

"P.. P .. P.. Pick up a Penguin !" uploaded by abbietabbie

Bizarre sex in the animal world

South African-based scientists observed and filmed an Antarctic fur seal trying to have sex with a king penguin. The incident, which lasted for 45 minutes, is reported in the Journal of Ethology.

The bizarre event took place on a beach on Marion Island, a sub-Antarctic island that is home to both fur seals and king penguins.

Why the seal attempted to have sex with the penguin is unclear. But the scientists who photographed the event speculate that it was the behavior of a frustrated, sexually inexperienced young male seal.

Equally, it might be been an aggressive, predatory act; or even a playful one that turned sexual.

"At first glimpse, we thought the seal was killing the penguin," says Nico de Bruyn, of the Mammal Research Institute at the University of Pretoria, South Africa.

Source: BBC

Penguin Bowling

Penguin Bowling

Set them up. Knock them down. It's penguin bowling, and these cool birds are a flock of fun. This seven-piece set features six penguins and a soft jingle ball to toss. Each penguin has a different activity on them, like clanker rings, rattles, and pick-a-boo mirror. Great for teaching cause and effect. Helps improve hand-eye coordination.

$26.95 at Baby Ultimate

March of the Pennies

Ceramic penguin bank.

Put a freeze on your spending habits by saving all your spare change in everyone's favorite arctic animal. This adorable penguin bank created by artist David DeSalvo is perfect for kids saving their allowances or grown-ups with pockets full of loose coins.

$24.00 at Uncommon Goods