Saturday, April 30, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
HAPPY WORLD PENGUIN DAY!
Each year, on or about the 25th of April, the Adelie penguins of Ross Island leave their brooding grounds and swim to their winter sanctuary northwest of the Balleny Islands. Some decided to mark the occasion by including all penguins and dubbing the day World Penguin Day.
Most penguins do participate in migratory habits. Why they favor some places more than others as their destination is the current work of biologists. Current belief is that the Adelies favor a place that has more pack ice, thereby providing more protection. This appears to be true, as the Davis Station Adelies migrate north, then west, staying close to the Antarctic continent. Also, Antarctica's days become much shorter and the Adelies do not feed well in the dark. Traveling north, these birds have longer days in order to fish and feed.
Other penguins migrate, as well. The Magellanic penguins of South America travel to Mar del Plata, where usually there is more food and less harsh conditions; however, in the past few years, the Magels have suffered many losses due to inadequate food. The Falkland Island Rockhopper Penguins have traditionally migrated to coastal South America, and the northernmost of the colonies favored the areas along the Patagonian Shelf. The Macaronis stay in the sub-Antarctic area, mostly at sea, during their migration from their breeding grounds.
These are just a few instances of penguin migration; the point is that they do migrate and when they do, this action initiates the end of the breeding season and the beginning of a new life in the vast southern ocean for thousands of newly molted juveniles.
Welcome to your world, little guys. Bon voyage!!!
![Antarctica Adelie[1]](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4047/4505350055_b4d7d8a24f.jpg)
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
The Strange Love Affairs of a Penguin and a Swan
Fowl Play
For reasons of data protection and privacy, your IP address will only be stored if you are a registered user of Facebook and you are currently logged in to the service. For more detailed information, please click on the "i" symbol.
In Germany -- at least among the feathered populace -- it would seem that nascent love affairs with inanimate objects are all the rage this year. Schwani, a swan in the village of Velen in western Germany, has decided that a blue tractor is the love of his life. And in Sea Life Constance, in Germany's far south, a penguin named Bonaparte has fallen hard for a rubber boot.
In the case of Schwani, at least, it would appear to be a long-term thing. Hermann-Josef Hericks, who runs the farm where the swan lives, told the tabloid Bild that Schwani has been beak-over-heels for a blue, 39 horsepower tractor for several years. "Ever since we bought the tractor three years ago, Schwani has been following it everywhere it goes," Hericks told the paper.
'Tractor as a Sexual Partner'
In its always-sincere effort to get to the bottom of the story, Bild phoned up animal behaviorist Daniela Fiutak to ask why Schwani would do such a thing. "The swan presumably had contact with machines during puberty," she said. "He sees the tractor as a sexual partner."
Bonaparte's infatuation, on the other hand, is of more recent origin. Recently, the gentoo penguin has taken to following his trainer around the enclosure -- in the vain hope of getting a little time alone with one of the trainer's rubber boots.
That may be true. But last year also saw Sea Life having breeding troubles in their penguin enclosure. A pair of birds that seemed deeply in love -- and even built themselves a nest together -- ultimately proved unable to have babies. They were, as it turned out, both males.
Schwani's confusion is likewise not as unique as one might think. Five years ago, a black swan named Petra made headlines in Germany for her love affair with a plastic pedal boat. To Petra's credit, though, the boat was shaped like a swan.
Source
cgh -- with wire reports
Friday, April 8, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.jpg)
