Cold Weather Penguin

Primary Biologist: Dan Clady Secondary Biologist: Tamara King

Equipment used: A. Radio* B. Warehouse Key* C. Handheld mic – On stand in employee area D. Headset Mic* E. Earbuds and pack* -For hearing your audience members when you’re in the exhibit. F. Batteries -Found on charger on the wall. G. SOP* H. Artifacts, if wanted: Feathers, Egg shells, Dummy eggs, Penguin skull, Etc. -Can be found backstage in the penguin’s kitchen cabinet, or in artifact cart. I. IPod*: with videos of feeding, molting and painting. -*Will be found in cubby, or in the office. Feel free to call 205 if you can’t find them.

Species: 1. Gentoo Penguins- South America and surrounding Sub Antarctic islands. They are the fastest swimming penguins in the world, between 22-25 MPH.

2. Macaroni Penguin- South America and surrounding Sub Antarctic islands. One of two types of crested birds here at the Newport Aquarium. When they were discovered, having a feather in you cap was a type of style called macaroni. They got this name because of the feathers on their heads. They have the slicked back yellow hair-do compared to the Rockhopper’s angry eyebrows.

3. Rockhopper Penguin- South America and surrounding Sub Antarctic islands. The smallest species we have here at the Newport Aquarium. They stand a foot and a half (18 inches) tall, compared to the smallest penguin in the world, which is the Fairy Blue, which only stands 13 inches tall. They also have the angry yellow eyebrows compared to the Macaroni’s yellow hair-do.

4. Chinstrap Penguin- Antarctica, Some of the oldest penguins we have here at the Aquarium. Average lifespan in the wild: 15-20 years, Under professional care: 30-40 years. A few of our Chinstraps are around 30, including Spike (this is true in 2017, in the future use the current age) .

5. King Penguins- Antarctica, Second largest penguin in the world. They stand 3-3 ½ feet tall. Compared to the Emperor Penguin, the largest penguin in the world, who stands 4- 4 ½ feet tall.

5a.(not found in this exhibit) African Penguins- Africa, like it between 60-100 degrees. This exhibit is too cold for them. At 40 degrees in the air and 50 in the water they could get hypothermia in this exhibit.

Tank Facts: Air temperature 40 degrees, water temperature 50 degrees, this varies slightly depending on the penguins’ season. They are on their natural light and temperature cycle for breeding and molting health.  Snow machine is used for enrichment  Igloos are meant to give the birds a space of their own, and to encourage breeding.  Second story is meant for the smaller species, but the Kings usually lay eggs up there.  The tank is 8,000 gallons of fresh water

Rules for guests: N/A- encourage them to ask questions. Try not to let anyone block or enter the blue gate, as it is an employee area only.

Rules for Employees:  You must be trained by a 205, 202, or Dan Clady before you can enter the house.  Check with 205s or Dan to make sure there are no eggs or injuries in the house, and that we are clear to enter.

Rules for going into the house  Make sure you have a radio and a warehouse key  Let guests know what’s happening, unless you want it to be a surprise, and enter through the blue door to the right of the exhibit. Make sure the door is closed behind you.  Remove your shoes and put on rubber boots located on the back left side of the backstage area.  Enter the cold hallway behind the exhibit. The door will be to the left of the rubber boots. Make sure the door closes behind you.  Walk through the footbath on the floor in the hallway. If there is no footbath, call Dan Clady. Do not continue to enter the cold weather penguin house without using the footbath.  Enter the cold room connected to the hallway. Make sure the door is closed behind you.  Enter the penguin area. Be sure the door closes behind you. Make sure to watch your feet for penguin toes while coming into the exhibit. Check your mic and make sure the guest can hear you by asking them to wave or nod.  When leaving, follow the same process as above in reverse. You do not have to walk through the footbath on the way out.

Common Issues:  Penguins fall off the second story sometimes, and guests worry: Let them know they have a lot of padding so they are usually cushioned well and uninjured.  Guest is looking for a penguin encounter: direct them upstairs to the additional experience area, in the lobby on the wooden benches next to the whale.  Guest is trying to fit a stroller on the escalator, or can’t find the elevator: stop them and direct them to the elevator to the left of the penguin exhibit.  Guests are looking for a penguin show, or want to see the penguins do tricks: Tell them that we support animal choice programing here at Newport Aquarium and we don’t want to force animals to do things they don’t want to do. Sometimes watching the penguins swim and porpoise feels like enough of a show. Also direct them to the Penguin Feed, Shark Ray Feed, Penguin Sunrise, Animal Encounters, etc. If Guests say “show” figure out what they mean, if they are looking for a feed etc. Also see what animals they are interested in seeing and see if you can direct them appropriately.  If feed is early, late, or hasn’t started yet: Still do the talk as best you can. Explain that the Biologists at the aquarium work very hard and have a lot on their plate, and sometimes their schedule gets thrown off a little bit.

Safety Policy: A.) Make sure all doors are closed behind you when going into and out of the penguin exhibit. B.) Put on boots before going into the hallway behind the exhibit. C.) Use foot bath in the hallway behind the exhibit. D.) Don’t touch the penguins in the exhibit unless they clearly and purposefully approach you. E.) Don’t go on exhibit if anyone else is in there, unless it is Dan Clady and you ask him first. Too many people in the exhibit makes the birds feel stressed because they think something medical will be done. F.) Don’t climb the rocks to get to the second story or for any reason. G.) If you notice a penguin is injured while on exhibit, let Dan, or the penguin biologist on duty know as soon as possible. You can call for them on channel 1 for Dan Clady or Moses (which Dan also goes by), otherwise call 205

Emergency Situations: Fire Extinguishers- Located to the left of the emergency exit doors in Shark Central. Fire pull handle- Located in Penguin Palooza right next to the emergency exit door. Emergency Exits- Stairwell located to the right of the penguin map in Penguin Palooza + Parking garage exit in Shark Central.

In the case of a fire: Gather everyone and have them exit out the stairwell next to the penguin map, or out to the parking garage exit in shark central. Make sure to have a radio on you before you go. In the case of a power outage: Get the flashlight from your work station and have everyone stay put so they don’t bump into things and each other in the dark. If the power doesn’t come back on shortly you will get a radio call with further instructions, or 205 will come and get you. In case of code Blowfish (bomb threat): Exit same doors as fire exits and move away from the building, at least as far as the Taylor Southgate Bridge. In the case of severe weather/tornado: Have guests stay put if possible. We cannot force them to stay. Some areas of the aquarium will be closed off. Keep your radio and flashlight handy and wait for instructions from 205.

FAQs: Where is the elevator? At the beginning on the penguin exhibit on your right, or at the end of shark central on your left.

Where are the bathrooms? The closets ones are back in the café on your right.

How do you tell the girls penguins from the boy penguins? There is no easy physical way to tell them apart. Our biologists do bloodwork and take note of which penguin is which.

How cold is it in there? The exhibit is kept at about 40 degrees in the air, 50 degrees in the water. It changes slightly as the seasons change because we keep the penguins on their natural light and temperature cycle to encourage healthy molting and breeding.

Why are bubbles coming out of the penguins when they swim? Penguins have the ability to raise and lower their feathers, and sometimes trap air between their feathers and squeeze it out while they’re swimming.

Do you have any Emperor Penguins? There are no Emperor Penguins in this exhibit. The largest species we have here are the King Penguins. The Emperors like it so cold that some of the other penguin species here would be uncomfortable, and the water would freeze to they would have it to play in, exercise in, and clean their feathers in.

What do penguins eat? Penguins like a variety of seafood including fish, squid and krill, which are tiny shrimp

How can I help endangered penguins? Penguin encounters, penguin paintings, water conservation, electricity conservation, recycling etc. seafoodwatch.org

Penguin Facts: (Conservation notes are highlighted) Speed/Swimming- Gentoo penguins swim 22-25 mph -African Penguins swim 16 mph - Kings and Emperors swim 12-14 mph - On land, penguins move about 1-2.5 mph, unless sliding on their bellies which they would do to escape predators like seals. -Penguins practice porpoising, or leaping out of the water repeatedly while swimming. This helps them to breath on the move. -African penguins can dive down about 400ft underwater. King and Emperor penguins can dive up to 1000ft underwater. -On average penguins can hold their breath for about 6 minutes. The smaller species can only hold it for about 2 minutes because of their smaller lungs. The bigger penguins can hold it 15-20 minutes because of their larger lungs. -While in the water they’ll turn sided to side while using their wings to get water in between their feathers. This is how they clean themselves. -You may see bubbles floating up from their feathers while the penguins are underwater. Their outer layer is waterproofed so some air gets trapped between the feathers. They also have the ability to lift and squeeze their feathers so they can trap air and squeeze it out while they swim to help go a tiny bit faster.

Feathers:  Penguins have multiple layers of feathers, a downy layer for warmth and a waterproof outer layer to keep them dry while they swim. They have an oil gland at the base of their tail much like a duck. They spend a lot of time making sure their feathers are covered in oil by preening themselves or each other and making sure all their feathers are in place so no water leaks in between. This involved rubbing their beaks on the gland and all over their feathers, and using their beaks to put their feathers in the right place. If you see penguins doing this to each other it is usually in the hard to reach places like the head and neck and it is a sign of affection.  They have 70 to 100 feathers per square inch, about the size of the end of your thumb. Which is more feathers than any other bird in the world.  They molt every 1-2 years losing all the old feathers and growing new ones. Feathers get worn out over time making the penguins look patchy or bald in some places. Many times a guest will ask if a penguin is sick or old when a penguin starts it’s molt or when the feathers start to look bad. Molting is a penguins way of replacing it’s old feathers. It’s called a spontaneous molt because it happens all at once, where as with other animals, such as humans, we lose one hair at a time and they grow back slowly. It can be a bit uncomfortable when penguins molt as they become itchy and hot. They can’t swim while they are molting because their waterproof feathers are missing and it would get too cold in the water for them. Therefor they bulk up before they molt. They eat a ton and can almost double their weight. Then they fast for the month to month and a half that it takes to molt. Here at the aquarium the biologists offer them food when they are hand feeding, and sometimes they will eat a little, but instinctually they don’t eat much while molting.  Penguins black and white coloring is a form of camouflage called counter shading. Their predators mostly live in the water, including sharks, orcas, seals and sea lions. If the predator is swimming under them and looking up they’ll see the white belly blending in with the white sky. If they are swimming above them and looking down they’ll see the black back blending in with the dark water. This is common coloring for many aquatic animals.  They do something we call the fluff and shake. When they get too hot they puff up all their feathers and then shake to get air between them. This is like shaking out your shirt on a hot summer’s day. Warm and cold weather penguins practice this because even the cold weather penguins get too hot sometimes with their high internal body temperatures (see below).  Conservation Talking Point- Oil spills are a big problem for penguins, and one of the reasons they are becoming endangered. Once oil coats a penguin’s feathers they lose their waterproofing and then can get hypothermia in the water. They also try to clean the oil off their feathers with their beaks and ingest it in the process, which can make them very sick or kill them. Something you can do to help is support dawn dish soap. They donate lots of money and soap to cleaning up many animals, including penguins, after oil spills.

Diet:  Penguins eat fish, tiny shrimp called krill, and squid.  They swallow their food whole. They don’t have teeth to chew their food. Instead they have barbs on the roof of their mouth and their tongue. These barbs, which look like tiny fish hooks, help keep the fish from slipping or swimming out of the penguins mouth while they’re hunting in the water.  They are our biggest eaters at the aquarium. On their hungriest day they can eat 14% of their body weight, which is equivalent to a 150lb human eating 20 pounds of food or 100 quarter pounders in a day.  They have full fish bowls all day every day. They are also hand fed twice a day here at the aquarium. Some of them ignore the food bowls because they enjoy the social interaction of being hand fed, and they expect it every day.  The biologists want to make sure the king penguins are all hand fed if they want to eat because they were raised this way and are one of the main species that will ignore the food bowls.  Here they get mostly Herring, Smelt and Silverside.  They have very fast metabolisms because of their high internal body temperature which can run between 102 and 104 degrees. This burns a lot of calories and is why many species like to live where it’s colder to help regulate that high temperature.  They go to the bathroom every 10-15 minutes.  Conservation Talking Point- Because they eat so much, overfishing is another big problem for them and one of the reasons they are becoming endangered. We like to eat many of the same types of fish they like in the wild including Sardines, Herring, Anchovies, Squid, and Mackerel. You can help by using seafood watch and making sustainable choices about the seafood you buy.

Eyes/Senses:  Penguins have extremely good eyesight because they have to see fish darting around quickly in the water while they are hunting for them.  They have a second eyelid called a nictitating membrane. This is a clear eyelid that works like goggles to allow them to see underwater while keeping the water out of their eyes.  Penguins can drink both salt and fresh water. When they sneeze they are usually getting rid of access salt. They also ingest a lot of salt in their diet, so they sneeze often.  Each penguin has about 4 different sounds they can make and the calls all sound different between species.  They have fairly good hearing as well. A penguin can discern they sound of its mate, or its chick in a rookery of hundreds.  Fortunately for them they do not have a very good sense of smell. This has to do with the amount of taste buds they have. This is not exact, but it was explained to me that if humans have about 100 taste buds and dogs have about 200 taste buds, then penguins have about 25 taste buds. So they can taste and smell a little but not much. This is lucky because they go to the bathroom often.  They fall and slip on the ice regularly and have plenty of padding from their fat and feathers so they are not easily hurt.

Mating/Breeding:  There is no easy way to tell a girl penguin from a boy penguin just by looking at them. Here at the aquarium the biologists take a blood sample and study it to find out which penguins are male and which are female. Sometimes there is a size difference, the males can be bigger, but this is not always the best indication of gender. The only other way you could tell, is if a penguin lays an egg, you know it’s a girl.  Penguins generally mate for life. Usually the only reason they would find a new partner is if they are not successful at having chicks, or if one partner passes away. Just like other species they can also have the occasional pair simply break up.  King and Emperor penguins are the ones who carry the eggs on their feet. The males and females take turns with egg care as well as chick care once it hatches. One partner would keep the egg or chick warm on its feet while the other partner goes for a swim to clean off or find food.  Smaller penguin species lay on the eggs to keep them warm like other bird species would. However they take turns caring for the eggs and the chicks  King and Emperor penguins only can care for one egg at a time since they keep them on their feet, so they only lay one egg at a time. Smaller penguin species can have 2 eggs but usually only one hatches.  King penguin chicks are cared for by their parents for the first 12-14 months. They are kept warm, fed, and taught how to swim. They aren’t able to swim until they have their adult feathers, which they grown after about a year. Until then their parents protect them from the water.  The chicks of smaller species are only cared for and have their baby feathers for about 3-5 months.  Penguin chicks are covered in down feathers and don’t have waterproofing until they grow their adult feathers.  All penguin babies are fed by regurgitation from their parents.  Because of this some, but not all penguins species uses regurgitation as a mating ritual. The male will demonstrate how much food it will feed their babies if the female chooses him as her mate.  In other penguin species the male will bring the female the prettiest shiniest rock he can find. If the female approves of the rock and the male penguin she will take the rock and use it to start building their nest. This is what penguins in cold climates make their nests out of because there aren’t plants around to build nests with.  Any penguins with yellow feathering, such as our King, Rockhopper, and macaroni penguins, use the brightness of the feathers to help them decide which mate to choose. Brighter yellow feathers mean a healthier penguin. Remember that penguins see colors differently than we do so this subtle feather color difference may not be apparent to us.  Here at the aquarium we let the penguins do the parenting just as they would in the wild. Biologists will come in the exhibit to weigh the baby and check in and make sure it is doing ok, but they do not usually get involved in the care of chicks unless it is necessary. We have had many baby chicks hatched and raised here.  All penguins live below the equator so their seasons are opposite of ours. Our winter is their summer etc. Most eggs and chicks occur between our Thanksgiving to New Years.

Miscellaneous  Penguins live about 15-20 years in the wild and 20-30 under professional care.  Other predators besides the ones listed above mostly pertain to chicks and eggs and would include sea birds and birds of prey. Penguins that live close to humans also have to worry about raccoons, foxes and house animals such as dogs and cats.  Sometimes you will see the king penguins leaning back on their heels with their toes in the air. This is thought to be practice for holding a future egg. It is also thought of as a warming or cooling technique for their feet. They don’t have feathers on their feet so they balance on their heels to keep less of their foot touching the cold ground. It could also be that their feet are hot and they are allowing air to circulate around them.  Penguins are brave and will defend their nesting grounds against animals up to 3 times their size including humans.  When fighting or showing aggression, penguins will peck with their beaks, or slap with their flippers.  Penguins are colonial birds, which means they like to live in large groups of 100s or 1000s. A group of penguins is called a rookery. You must have at least 8 penguins in a zoo or aquarium for them to be happy.  There is no dominate penguin or head penguin. Penguins tend to work as a team, and will support each other in protecting eggs and nests.  The different species all get along fine in once giant exhibit together, and only tend to squabble when birds of different species get too close to each other’s eggs or chicks.  Because their seasons are opposite ours we turn off the lights earlier in the summer and leave the lights on longer in the winter.  Penguins are birds that do not fly. Birds that fly have hollow bones to make them lighter so it is easier for them to get up in the air. Penguins have solid bones to make them heavier so they can dive down in the water.  Because penguins only live below the equator, penguins and polar bears would never meet like they do in Coca Cola commercials.