Penguins trigger air-sea rescue

Rescuers hunting for the site of a plane crash at sea off the coast of Scotland called off their search - after the casualties turned out to be two inflatable penguins.

Coastguard and lifeboat teams, along with a helicopter, were scrambled after an elderly man reported a light plane had ditched near Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire.

He was convinced he saw wreckage glinting in the sun.

But rescuers discovered that what he had spotted were two massive balloons shaped like penguins.

The search was called off after the 4ft penguins, which were semi-inflated, were discovered .

The two penguins - whose source remains a mystery - have now been "adopted" by the lifeboat team.

Daily Record

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's wetsuit puts him back in the swim of things

Pierre, a venerable 25 years old jackass penguin, was going bald, which left him with an embarrassingly exposed, pale pink behind.

Unlike marine mammals, which have a layer of blubber to keep them warm, penguins rely on their waterproof feathers. Without them, Pierre was unwilling to plunge into the California Academy of Sciences penguin tank and ended up shivering on the sidelines while his 19 peers played in the water.

Staff at Oceanic Worldwide, a supplier of dive gear based in San Leandro, were enthusiastic about making a real penguin suit for Pierre.

Pierre was outfitted with the suit about six weeks ago. Since then, he has gained weight, grown back feathers on his hind parts and is again acting like his feisty, alpha-male self. With his plumage restored, Pierre is being weaned off the suit, taking more and more dips in the buff.

Source: Yahoo News

Have you seen this penguin?

Penguin abducted from German zoo

Officials at a zoo in Stuttgart, Germany, believe a penguin that has gone missing from her enclosure was abducted. Officials said the penguin, a female named Babe, was taken from the enclosure she shares with 54 other African penguins.

"She was there when zookeepers visited in the morning, and by early afternoon she was gone," said staff zoologist Isabel Koch.

"She couldn't have walked out with so many people around, but it wouldn't be so difficult to carry her away," Koch said. "She's just the size of a sack of flour."

Source: The Money Times

Penguin mascot in lawsuit

Channel 4's SnowBird has been notifying Tennessee and Kentucky children about school closings for over 25 years.

This penguin began his television career in the form of an inanimate, colorful cut-out that squawked out the phrase, "No school...no school!" From such humble beginnings, the bird took flight.

During his long career, SnowBird has appeared in a year-long "Word from SnowBird" public service series, starred in three Christmas specials, and hosted children's programs about sportsmanship and self-esteem. These efforts have earned the Bird numerous awards, including regional Emmy awards.

Not many penguins can boast of a past like that. But Channel 4's SnowBird refuses to rest on his reputation. As long as there are children and snowfalls, the future is bright for this bird.

But not if Paul Truitt of Hendersonville can help it.

He says that the ice cream truck-style jingle that accompanies promotional spots for WSMV-Channel 4’s mascot SnowBird, is a “cancer on my eardrum.”

Truitt has sued the television station after the penguin ditty became stuck in his head for more than a month, he says, resulting in the need for a doctor visit and a prescription for sleeping pills.

“They know that this song has the power to drive people to distraction, yet year after year, they broadcast it hundreds of times, especially targeting children,” Truitt says. “It just got to the point where it was driving me nuts. I was waking up in the morning with that squeaky little ding-dong tune going in my brain.”

Video: Penguin Man

Over the years, Alfred David's interest in penguins has turned into an obsession. He's not just into them, he now actually thinks he is a penguin. He even has the suit and waddle to prove it! Alfred claims to have a wife, but she doesn't make an appearance in this video.

Confused penguin strays 5,000km

A Magellanic penguin whose natural habitat is the cool climes of southern Chile has strayed thousands of miles from his home, arriving in Peru.

The penguin, native to the Strait of Magellan region of Chile, swam all the way to Peru's Paracas national reserve.

Scientists say the bird appeared to have made the 5,000km (3,000-mile) journey alone.

They say the penguin must have "got off course" to end up just 14 degrees south of the equator.

Penguin a living 'piggy bank'

A Humboldt penguin at the Denver Zoo was getting ready to be shipped to another zoo, but the transfer was held up when veterinarians found coins in the bird's stomach.

Zoo officials said well-wishers toss coins into the penguin pond for good luck, but it's bad luck for the birds that can't differentiate a shiny coin from a shiny scaled fish and ingest them, causing stomach problems.

The adult female Humboldt, who was undergoing a wellness exam, had a blood test that indicated she had a dangerously high level of zinc in her system. Veterinarians had to remove the coins using an endoscope with a small net attached to ''scoop'' the coins from the bird's stomach.

Veterinarians successfully recovered 71 cents and pieces of a partially digested penny from the penguin's stomach. They said despite the inherent risks of any procedure involving anesthesia, the bird recovered fully and the levels of zinc in her blood have dropped back to normal.