PetSugar

Cute Alert: Ralph the Penguin Needs a Wetsuit

PetSugar — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 06:00:22 -0700

We've seen penguins wearing a little something extra both for holidays and cold weather protection, but Ralph here wears this ensemble for an entirely different reason. Check out the crew at Marwell Wildlife in Hampshire, England and read all about it!

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March of the Magellanic Penguins at the San Francisco Zoo!

PetSugar — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:20:28 -0700

All eyes were on some other Magellanic penguins at the San Francisco Zoo a couple weeks back- remember the love triangle of Harry, Pepper, and Linda? To recap that ~~soap opera~~ story, male Pepper got a new home when Harry took up with a female penguin.

Anyway, same species but different birds, these penguin chicks forge their way to a new home on Penguin Island in the annual March of the Penguins event. Yeah, they didn't have quite as dramatic a tale as the Emperor penguins featured in the movie of the same name, but these birds surely had to endure more (human) crowds as they traveled down some pavement to the new watery habitat.

See more pictures from the world's largest Magellanic penguin colony in captivity when you read more.

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The Scoop: Harry and Pepper Break Up!

PetSugar — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:15:50 -0700

Sad news to come out of San Francisco: Harry and Pepper have officially broken up . . . and Harry's moved on. The SF Zoo's famous same-sex penguin couple hit a rough patch when the single Linda befriended Harry after her long-time (male) companion, Fig, passed away.

This caused a fight between the original couple and the threesome was then separated. It's all water under the bridge as Pepper just returned to the penguin exhibit from a bachelor pad at the Avian Conservation Center and they were reintroduced in their enclosure on Friday.

Harry and Linda successfully nested this year but Harry and Pepper famously hatched an egg (from a different mama) together in 2008 acting as "the best parents that year." I guess he'll just be Uncle Pepper now?

This zoo has the largest Magellanic penguins colony in captivity in the world (nearly 60 birds!) - if you're local and want to check out these two, their left wing band numbers are 201 (Harry) and 207 (Pepper). See the classic video describing the birds and chicks, read more.

Source: Cindy Chew/The Examiner

Surf's Up For Little Penguins: Meet North . . . and South

PetSugar — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 13:45:56 -0700

Stop the presses, there's a new North in town. Granted not my town, and not even my pooch's species, but check out this penguin!

Tiny "North" was rescued along with his pal named – you guessed it – "South" from different beaches along the New South Wales state coastline. The two Little Penguins were taken to the Wildlife Hospital at Sydney's Taronga Zoo (home of Monifa) to be treated – one was found tangled in seaweed. Poor lil guy!

Sometimes called Fairy Penguins, they're the smallest species of this bird type. (If you're fuzzy on the rest, refresh your memory with a slideshow of all the species here).

Both birds were rereleased into the open ocean off the coast of Australia today so see more pictures of North and his pal South hitting the waves when you read more.

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Source

High Tech Habitats at the California Academy of Sciences

PetSugar — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 03:00:48 -0700

Although geeksugar got a sneak peek at the California Academy of Sciences when she attended a video game release party earlier this month, she didn't really get to explore the facility as much as she would have liked to. Thankfully, Wired gave us a behind the scenes look at the high tech penguin habitat, and explained the benefits of running the facility on computers to replicate the light and temperature the penguins would get back in their natural environment.

I'm excited for the new Academy of Sciences to open this weekend, so I can check out what other animals are hiding behind those closed doors!

Guess What Bird?

PetSugar — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 07:00:01 -0700

Yes, it's a penguin, but which one (refresh your memory with my species slideshow)?

Five Fun Zoo Cams to Keep You Occupied!

PetSugar — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 08:00:54 -0700

I looooove webcams, and I've got some time to kill before the Fourth of July fun gets started. If you're also sitting around waiting for the food to be grilled, now's a great time to check out some live zoo action. To be fair, I've included a variety of creatures as well as three cams with baby animals . . . ummm, adoro. Go ahead, blow kisses at your screen, I'm not telling.

Lions! My current zoo cam of choice, I love to check in to see what the baby lions are up to. Nevermind that I can't understand a single word on the site except for "live" (as this zoo is all the way in Norway), my glimpses of mama lion canoodling and caring for her four cubs are too precious to pass up.
Giant Pandas! Classic cam with lots of action, check out the Giant Pandas live from the San Diego Zoo. There are seven pandas there which makes spotting at least one fairly likely. And don't forget the other cams of the Apes, Polar Bears, and Elephants afterwards.

See three more webcam suggestions when you read more.

Ferrets! I already mentioned the ferret cam because of the adorable lil one, Georgia, now visible . . . she's an endangered Black-footed Ferret. This is just one of the many great action capturers at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
Beluga Whales! I couldn't forget our underwater pals. Because I'm a sucker for baby animals, I love watching Qila the Beluga and her new calf born June 10. They're both super cute (and swim a lot) so see these two (and their Sea Otters) for some splashy laughs.
Penguins! I adore penguins and the Penguins' Rock webcam has some of the most active birdies I've seen. Check out Macaroni and Gentoo penguins live from Chattanooga's Tennessee Aquarium – if you're lucky, you'll see them take a dip, too!

Results: You Made It Quotable!

PetSugar — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 07:00:25 -0700

Great job captioning this silly photo! You made it quotable with these clever ideas:

Um, yes, I'll have the herring with the kelp and krill sides. –smistasan

No sir, I did not sign for the package. That is certainly not my signature. I would never order anything from Pengboy. –Kristabelle

Penguin: I think you took a wrong turn at the North Pole . . . –cmichel

Mr. Waddlesworth and his two friends are pulled from the London Zoo's pool to review the rules - Again . . ."No intentional splashing of patrons." -pcollinsb

Check out the rest of your suggestions here.
Source

Too Cute For Words!

PetSugar — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 11:00:35 -0700

It’s time to get clever! A picture is worth a thousand words but those messages vary from person to person. I think this picture is laughable, but what do you think of it? Suggest quotes or captions for this photo in your comments below, and I’ll do a roundup next week of some of my faves.

Source

Happy World Penguin Day!

PetSugar — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:15:36 -0700

That's right – it's another holiday today! In honor of World Penguin Day, I've created a slideshow to teach you a little more about the 17 species of penguins worldwide. Many times, looking at their heads is the easiest way to tell them apart . . . makes sense because that's what we can see when they pop up from swim time! Source

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