Penguins Waddle Into The News

Left: are these penguins dancing?

© US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

It's a busy time of year for penguins. They have to keep warm in the winter winds, catch fish AND pose for Christmas cards.

This week they're also in the news for two very different reasons.

First, the good news. An albino penguin has been born at Bristol Zoo. Named Snowdrop by the proud keepers, the young bird is healthy and well.

Left: Snowdrop in the nest.

© Bristol Zoo Gardens.

Colour in living creatures is caused by pigment. An albino animal has no pigment in its body. This makes it look white and washed out. Snowdrop has white feathers, pink eyes, pink feet, a pink face and a very pale beak.

Albino penguins are very, very rare. Staff at the zoo believe Snowdrop could be the first albino penguin ever born in captivity.

Left: busy penguins.

© US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In the Falkland Islands the news is bad. Thousands of penguins are being washed up either dead or dying on the Islands' beaches. Vets and scientists are studying the penguins to try to work out what is going wrong.

Some experts think the cause may be a 'red tide'. This is when lots and lots of tiny poisonous red plants called phytoplankton grow in water. When penguins eat fish that have eaten these plants, they are poisoned.

Left: these penguins are
off for a dip in the icy sea.

© US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Snowdrop isn't ready for visitors quite yet but while you wait there are plenty of black and white penguins waddling around in zoos up and down the country.

Many museums are penguin fans too.

Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum's Wilson Gallery is all about the explorer Edward Wilson who was on Scott's Antarctic Expedition.

The Walter Rothschild Zoological Museum in Tring is also home to penguins, along with hundreds of other animals, birds and insects.

There's a King penguin lurking in the Bird Biology Gallery at The Royal Museum in Edinburgh. Why not go and visit him with his feathered friends? There's a Great Northern Diver in a nearby display - would you be able to spot the difference?

Wildwalk is the nature section of At-Bristol. See if you can spot some penguins on video, showing off their waterproof feathers.

Visit the Bristol Zoo website Kids Page to find out more about the animals and make a penguin mask. Click on this link for Bristol Zoo.