Well no, he's not the next Picasso. But Blue Blue, an African penguin living at the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, is still quite the little artiste, if we may say so ourselves. It may be fair to say, however, that he's the Picasso of penguins.
Here's how the artist works: Non-toxic paint is applied to the feet of the one-year-old webbed wonder, who then waddles around, creating art to be sold on the aquarium's website. The 16-inch-by-20-inch paintings are double-matted in white with black inner trim and encased in a black wood frame. Available in two three-color combinations -- dark red, blue and green and purple, blue and green -- the works (being sold at under $125) will give a portion of the earnings to the penguin conservation efforts both in Mystic and across the world.
Posts tagged "penguins"
A penguin at the Allwetterzoo Münster. Flickr/Mojo Jojo
13 years ago, an African penguin arrived at the Allwetterzoo Münster, reports ABC News. While normally penguins will be aggressive toward their keepers, this one, Peter Vollbracht told Spiegel Online, ignored the 80 other penguins and "would just sit on my boot or arm and ask to be petted." Sandy, as he named her, apparently did not believe in playing hard to get: "When I would get to work in the morning, she would be there waiting for me and call out to me. And when we did our daily penguin march for exercise, she would always jump to the front of the line to be next to me." For ten years the couple had their special relationship, and Sandy became somewhat of a celebrity in Germany.
Then Vollbracht got sick and missed six weeks of work, reports ABC News. But "out of sight, out of mind" apparently applies to primarily monogamous penguins. When Vollbracht returned, Sandy had set her sights on Tom, a younger penguin. Sandy and Tom settled down, had a couple of chicks, and then, sadly, Tom died. The newly available Sandy looked around for a new mate and found... Vollbracht. While her keeper points out that she needs a penguin partner to lead a normal life, it seems that some things are just meant to be.
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"I'm ready for my close up!" Photo: paper or plastic?/Flickr
Pandamonium
With the birth of a new cub and almost twenty different camera angles, the San Diego's Zoo's Panda Cam puts the spotlight on these fuzzy black and white bears. If you get frustrated by their lack of action check out the time lapse video which recaps the bear's activities by day.
For Lion Lovers
The view of this watering hole at the Nkhoro Bush Lodge in South Africa streams live 24 hours a day. People have spotted lions and hyenas while watching the feed. The bonus? It even has night vision so no matter the time difference, you can still see the action. Plus, they have cameras in other locations, which focus on elephants and flamingos.
Peep at Penguins
The Monterey Bay Aquarium has a cool cam installed above their penguin pen. Be sure to tune in at 10:30 am and 3 pm PST, when the birds are fed.
Online Aquarium
The folks at EarthCam joined together with the New England Aquarium to bring you this fishy feed. The featured tank is home to different types of marine life including sharks and sea turtles.
Zootopia
Home of almost 20 different cameras, the Smithsonian National Zoological Park broadcasts from some pretty cool habitats -- everything from an orangutan to an octopus.
"Birds of a feather flock together. Sometimes co-stars do too!" Photo: Bob Couey, SeaWorld/Getty Images
Look at these love birds! According to People magazine, "True Blood" co-stars Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer stepped away from the world of vampires and shape-shifters to explore their softer sides at Sea World in San Diego this past Sunday. The couple, who are romantically linked on and off screen, spent time cuddling with a feathered friend at the Penguin Encounter attraction.
Paquin, who plays Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic waitress, and Moyer, who plays vampire Bill Compton, were in town for an appearance at Comic Con, a comic book and popular arts convention. The second season of "True Blood" is currently airing Sunday nights on HBO.
This is the story of two male penguins who fell in love and raised a baby together, only to have the fairy tale end with sex, lies, and CNN videotape.
Harry and Pepper are two residents of the San Francisco Zoo's Penguin Island. While penguins tend to swing one way, these two didn't see gender when they fell in love. Their courtship became a newsworthy sensation last year, especially after the zoo's staff donated a penguin egg for the couple to raise as their own.
As with many love stories, this one goes south when another woman came between the two. Recent widower and next door neighbor, Linda, caught the attention of Harry, who soon moved in with her and became a father for the second time around. Where is Jerry Springer when you need him?
Harry and Pepper are two residents of the San Francisco Zoo's Penguin Island. While penguins tend to swing one way, these two didn't see gender when they fell in love. Their courtship became a newsworthy sensation last year, especially after the zoo's staff donated a penguin egg for the couple to raise as their own.
As with many love stories, this one goes south when another woman came between the two. Recent widower and next door neighbor, Linda, caught the attention of Harry, who soon moved in with her and became a father for the second time around. Where is Jerry Springer when you need him?
Beak-to-the-water: macaroni penguins love to swim. A new French study reveals where they go. Photo: Lawrie Cate/Flickr
For years, zoologists have been trying to figure out where these land-and-sea birds jet off to during their long spells away from home. And now, some French scientists think they've solved the penguin mystery. So where's the secret hideout? The southern Indian Ocean.
A team of scientists from the National Centre for Scientific Research attached tiny monitoring devices (weighing less than an ounce) to the legs of a dozen macaroni penguins just in time for their annual voyage, according to a story on Yahoo! News via the Agence France-Presse.
At the onset of winter, the unsuspecting penguins left the Kerguelen Islands with monitors in tow. The devices tracked location, ambient light and water temperature for six months until the birds returned to Kerguelen to breed.
The birds headed east to the southern Indian Ocean, clocking an average of 8,930 miles during their six months away. 80% of their time was spent between 47 and 49 degrees latitude south, where they gorged on lobsters, shrimps, crabs, and other crustaceans. Come rush hour (the final weeks of migration) the birds covered 1,108 miles in just one month.
This information is priceless to scientists. Macaroni penguins are the most numerous penguin species but their population is thought to be on the decline. Charles-Andre Bost, who led the study, says the findings pinpoint the penguins' key feeding grounds and will help in conservation efforts.
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