Little Penguins
I had never heard of the Little Penguins, the smallest penguins on the planet (only 33 cm tall), until last Saturday evening. Each night, visitors from all over the world come to Phillip Island, Australia to watch them emerge from the ocean and waddle up the beach to their burrows. The cold winter winds were blowing, but not enough to deter us from waiting on the cutest creature on earth. I was able to get within 3 feet of them, but no photography is allowed (it confuses them). So I don't have a picture to post, but recommend the official website, http://www.penguins.org.au (click on "Penguin Parade" and then watch the video). I'll never forget these little guys -they gave me quite a bit of joy that night.
posted by John Musselman at 4:29 PM
1 Comments:
Writing from Melbourne, Australia...(I followed a post about Hall's Gap on John Dekker's blog)......
These Little Penguins used to be known as Fairy Penguins. See the link below for an interesting article on why Sea World in the Gold Coast changed their name.
The sub-heading is: "THEME park bosses have re-named their colony of fairy penguins amid fears they could upset the gay community"
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,18823845-1248,00.html
Phillip Island, where you visited, gives a more prosiac expanation for their own change to the penguin's name:
"The name `Little Penguin` is now used instead of `Fairy Penguin` as it is a more accurate translation of their scientific name, Eudyptula minor." (from http://www.penguinfoundation.org.au/aboutlittlepenguins.asp?pg=5)
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