Comments on: Ocio and Safara are Back on Exhibit

By: Tammi

Tammi — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:30:45 +0000

My son and I love the app for his ipod. We watch every night to see you feed the peguins and answer questions. We live in VT so we are three hours ahead of you. I have started watching your morning feeding, 1:30pm my time, with my daycare kids to teach them about the animals and so they can hear the q and a session as well. They really enjoy it. My son and I love looking for Pierre everyday. He is soooo cute.

By: Jocelyn

Jocelyn — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:56:16 +0000

Is their language called “Penguinese”?

By: Penguins

Penguins — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:46:50 +0000

Hi Jocelyn, penguins communicate in their own unique “language” by vocalizing and performing physical behaviors called displays. For example, they are able to communicate information to each other regarding territories, mating information, partner and chick recognition, and defense against intruders.

By: Jocelyn

Jocelyn — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 23:36:01 +0000

Do penguins know that they are called penguins? Do they know the word penguin or do they have their own language?

By: Penguins

Penguins — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 23:32:27 +0000

You are correct and we are monitoring Jahzara closely for egg-laying. We have also been noticing that Pomona looks plump and she’s been showing an increase in appetite that is most likely associated with being gravid. Howard and Pomona did move into Pete’s old nest but for the first time today Pete was defending their old nest so hopefully a switch has been made Neither Agulhas/Jahzara nor Howard/Pomona are recommended to breed this year by the Species Survival Plan so we won’t be hatching their eggs.

By: Penguins

Penguins — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 23:26:53 +0000

We’re always happy to answer questions and it is true that there is a gap in knowledge during the juvenile phase for these birds. However, more telemetry tracking is being done and I expect that this gap will close over the next few years as data is compiled. They really can sleep while in the water and there are reports of juveniles being out to sea for so many continuous months that they had seaweed growing on their backs when they finally came to shore! That pumpkin diver was a bit tough but crafty things are not my strong suit! I plan to post a picture of it from the front hopefully tomorrow in a new blog post so…stay tuned!

By: Penguins

Penguins — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 23:22:56 +0000

Hi Karen! It generally does take time for the birds to respond to a biologist and they definitely can distinguish between their care-takers based on our voices/"calls". We haven't reared chicks yet in our new facility but the chicks were also in auditory contact with the colony at our previous temporary facility where many of our current birds were raised (Howard, Pomona, Dunker, Safara and Pete). Our experience was that parents did settle down pretty quickly and we anticipate the same here in our new exhibit. Specifically for the African penguin I would recommend the African Penguin a natural history by Phil Hockey. However, for level of interest I would really recommend Penguins by Lloyd Spencer Davis. It is about penguins in general but I think will provide you with most of the information you're curious about and really give you the best sense of the "penguin essence". He's a delightful writer and the book truly is remarkable. Enjoy!!!

By: Scot

Scot — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 23:04:40 +0000

Thanks very much for the nice response. I heard part of the afternoon feed on the web and I thought I heard that Jahzara is also getting ready to lay eggs. Will those eggs be allowed to hatch? I was also wondering about Pomona, she’s looking a little plump recently and upgraded to a new nest box (unfortunately for Pete it had been his). Might she also be expecting?

By: Penguins

Penguins — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 22:50:06 +0000

Hi Scot, Dassen is probably getting ready to lay eggs and has not been swimming during the past handful of feeds. She is an older bird (27 years old) and we’d prefer her not to skip meals so have been offering her a chance to eat in her nest if she doesn’t join the colony down in the pool. Grendel is one of our more nervous penguins and is likely to stay in his nest if Dassen’s in it; they really like to be near each-other and have been a pair for over 15 years! It can be difficult to get fish to Dassen without giving some to Grendel so, more often than not, both birds are given “room service” fish together.

By: Karen

Karen — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 00:41:44 +0000

Hi Brooke!
I was so intrigued that I did a little digging and came up with more questions (you’re probably thinking, “Is she ever going to stop?!!”).
Is it true that no one really knows where the little fledglings go or what they do during their jaunts out to sea? It seems like that’s the case based on the following quote from the African Penguin Chick Bolstering Project http://penguins.adu.org.za/pdf/00011_PTT_chick_FINAL_article_06-07-2011_4.pdf: “Unfortunately, large gaps exist in our knowledge of the period of the African Penguin life cycle from fledging until they return to breed at around three to four years old.”
Also, can they really sleep while in the water? That’s what it seems like based on information I picked up while surfing the NEAQ website http://penguins.neaq.org/: “The penguins stay on exhibit overnight and sleep right on the islands. They can even sleep while floating in the water.”
The more I learn about the little devils, the more questions I have!!! They are just the cutest, most fascinating little creatures around!
Also, that diving pumpkin head looked like it was a really tough job this evening, made just a bit tougher by Ocio’s interest in it! I wish the webcams could give us a good view of how it looks from the front!!
As ever, thanks for everything you do(along with the whole penguin team).
Happy Halloween!
Karen