The Captive African Penguin Coloney at the Knoxville Zoological Gardens
Here are some of the birds I worked with during my internship.
Thanks to Mr. Jonathan Bell for resizing the pictures.
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Jell-O
She turned her back and gave me this BEAUTIFUL pose. She's the tame penguin, you can read more about her in my journals. |
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Two pairs following the leader
I think this is Meg, Jell-O, Willard, and Jerry. They're walking around the exhibit on their way to another food station. |
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Jell-O with other penguins in background
The other birds are standoffish with the camera, but Jelly-Belly loves it. |
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Durban and Cleo
This is an aggressive stance that the pair is taking, basically telling me to get away from their nesting area. Penguins will behave like this with other penguins, the lapwing, or zoo keepers if they feel their private space is being violated. |
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Jell-O
This is Jell-O inviting me to join her in the nest box. If you've read my journal, you know a little about Jell-O's problem with thinking that she and humans are synonymous. This stance is generally used in mating. Jell-O must not understand that I'm too large to fit into her tiny cave.
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Sylvester
No, he isn't sick. Sylvester is in the process of molting, or losing all of his feathers before he grows a new coat. This is a very stressful time for the birds, and it makes a huge mess to clean up for the keepers. Sylvester happens to be the oldest African Penguin in captivity at around (estimate) 36 years. |
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Jell-O
She is posing for me in the penguin nursery. The wooden structure next to her are two different nest boxes for penguins who are incubating an egg are isolated from the rest of the coloney. |
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