Official Kids Mag

By Karen Rice Official Kids Mag swimming lessons Back in the year 2002, something amazing happened on Penguin Island. Penguin Island is the penguin habitat at the San Francisco Zoo where 46 Magellanic penguins lived. Magellanic penguins come from South America, but most of these penguins had lived at the zoo since 1984. Not that they were complaining. They had a nice place to live, including a big concrete pool which circled their "island" habitat, althought they hardly ever used it. Their zookeeper Jane Tollini would sing to them, feed them smelt and herring, and even gave the older ones vitamins so their joints wouldn't hurt. She had names for them: Don Vito, Filthy, Ravioli, Grumpy and more. To be honest, the penguins had gotten a little lazy. Back home on the coast of Argentina, Chile and the Falkland Islands, they would have to worry about predators, and make a 2,000 mile swim across the sea to their breeding grounds in Brazil or Uruguay. At the zoo, one day was pretty much like the one before. They would wake up. Wait for Jane to bring food. Eat. Hang out in their burrows. Bask in the sun. Groom themselves. Nap. Then in November of 2002, everything changed. That was the day six new Magellanic penguins came from Sea World to live at the Penguin Island habitat. The first thing the new penguins did, after checking out their new home, was to jump in the great big pool and begin to swim around. The other penguins looked on. Then slowly, one by one, they began jumping into the water too. After an hour or two, all 52 penguins were swimming in circles in the pool around Penguin Island. Jane the penguin keeper was surprised. "I can't explain it," she said. Somehow, the new penguins persuaded the others to start swimming. "Six convinced 46 to do it when, after 19 years, they didn't have a clue to do it." And they kept on swimming, as if they were migrating in the wild. Round and round they went, darting through the water at great speed. Sometimes they would even leap out of the water and "fly" while swimming, as penguins sometimes do. The birds would start swimming early in the morning and hardly stopped until dusk. Even the old penguins got into the act. "It's a free-for-all in here," Jane said at the time. "My old geezers have swum more in the last three months than they have in five and a half years." The penguins were very determined about their imaginary migration. When the pool had to be drained for cleaning, the birds would jump in and walk in circles on the concrete floor of the pool. Penguin experts looked for a way to explain the behavior, but they weren't that surprised. They knew that penguins are extremely social birds, and very curious about new things. Also, penguins are designed to swim. In the wild, they spend up to 80 percent of their life swimming. So it wasn't too surprising that the penguins made swimming their new group activity. Crowds of people came to the zoo to see the swimming penguins. They were featured on television news programs around the world. What happened that winter on Penguin Island was never fully explained, but scientists think the new penguins triggered a natural instinct in the ones that had been in captivity at the zoo. As Jane the penguin-keeper put it, "I think they were reintroduced to their inner penguin." You might say they were reminded of what it meant to be a penguin. When they staggered out of the pool each evening, they were tired, but happy. They felt like they had a purpose. It was good to swim. It was good to be a penguin. January 20 is Here's a true story about some penguins at the San Francisco Zoo in California who "learned" to swim Although penguins are birds that cannot fly, their flippers are like wings that help them "fly" under the water. Most penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere, the bottom half of the earth. Penguins' black and white "tuxedo" is actually protection against predators. Penguins have black feathers on their backs to help them blend in with the darkness of the ocean from predators viewing from above. Their white bellies help them blend in with the bright surface of the ocean so predators looking up from the water will have a hard time seeing them. Also, penguins are excellent swimmers and can outswim a lot of their predators. They can swim at speeds of over 20 miles per hour. A penguin's body is tapered at both ends and it has a large head, short neck and elongated body. Their streamlined design helps penguins swim fast too. Magellanic penguins stand 18 inches tall, weigh about 8 pounds, and mate for life. They are named for the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, whose crew first spotted them while sailing around the tip of South America in 1519. In captivity, they can live to be up to 35 years old. National Penguin Day 12 • January 2021 • www.officialKidsMag.com

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