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Nobody Stole A Tennessee Aquarium Penguin
Chattanooga, TN - For some reason, there has been a recent rash of people asking about the little boy who kidnapped or stole one of the Tennessee Aquarium’s penguins. This may be one of the most interesting myths of our time according to Amy Graves, the Aquarium’s senior aviculturist. “The tale is not true of course, whether it's one of our penguins or a bird from some other zoo or aquarium,” said Graves. “Friends of mine at the Knoxville Zoo say they get asked about one of their African penguins being stolen too.” There seems to be an ebb and flow to this rumor as it washes across the country through e-mails and blogs. This story has traveled around the globe in enough waves to gain official status as an “urban legend.” Story goes something like this: A small boy gets separated from his parents at the Tennessee Aquarium. While he is exploring on his own, he manages to sneak a baby penguin into his backpack. The child is reunited with his parents who are so relieved the child is safe that they don’t notice the abducted penguin in his backpack. Later after they arrive home, the parents are shocked to find the boy playing with the baby penguin in the bathtub. According to Snopes.com, this myth might have originated in 1993 as one of the first viral e-mails passed from person to person. The zoo or aquarium changes from time to time, but the basic story remains the same. This website also cites the 2002 children's book, “Tina and the Penguin,” by Heather Dyer as a possible cause for re-igniting these false stories. http://www.snopes.com/critters/farce/smuggled.asp Kevin Calhoon, the Tennessee Aquarium’s assistant curator of forests, says this urban legend has problems from the start. “First of all, not many people at the Aquarium have keys to our penguin exhibit,” said Calhoon. “So access is very restricted. But even if someone could get into Penguins’ Rock, our birds are used to certain people. If anyone else goes in there, the birds dive into the water.” Calhoon also punches holes in this story with the following points: 1. Penguins look cuddly, but they can be rather feisty. If you're ever at the Tennessee Aquarium when it's time for our birds to be examined, you'll see that it's challenging for trained keepers to catch a bird. They'll waddle quickly off or simply peck and flap like crazy. Some of the Aquarium’s penguins weigh up to twenty pounds and the larger the bird, the harder they are to handle. To help lay this urban legend to rest, two communications students from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga have produced a penguin caper video recreating this urban legend. “It was fun working with the Aquarium and learning about the penguins,” said Bill Puckett, a UTC junior. “I learned a lot about the penguins,” said fellow UTC junior, Brooke Fontana. “Especially how difficult it would be to even touch a penguin without them going crazy.” The video can be seen on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6gAJD5DLWM |
By Thom Benson 
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Unusual to have three snow leopard cubs
Congratulations to ABQ BioPark and the proud cat parents on the birth of three snow leopard cubs. That's fantastic news and we look forward to these three playing an important role in snow leopard survival breeding and also helping educate people about their endangered cousins in the wild.
Snow leopards live in some of the most extreme environments on earth - in high altitudes and freezing temperatures. If we don't do a lot of work with communities and governments in snow leopards 12 range countries, these beautiful cats may be extinct in the wild in our life time.
Sibylle Noras
Founder and Publisher
“Saving Snow Leopards” website. See how conservationists and zoos are working to help these rare and elusive cats avoid extinction.
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Love penguin fluffballs.
I especially liked if you go to the zoo's homepage and click on the info about naming the baby, the winner says she'd like to be able to tell her dad that a penguin was named after him for his birthday. Adorable!
If you have any interest in reading a new blog, featuring conservation of adorable animals and their habitats, please check out my website...
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Thanks!
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For more information about World Oceans Day and a list of other events in your area you can visit www.WorldOceansDay.org
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Asome news on the new baby! I agree with everyone here on the fact that animals should not be in captivation. If you want to check out a really cool place in Thailand where you can care for elephants check out http://www.elephantstay.com this place is a sanctuary for retired working elephants, it's an amazing place and they do so much good for the animals who live there. I went a few months ago and it was amazing.
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I fully agree with you when it comes to the captivity of orcas. These animals live considerably shorter, unhealthier lives than they normally would have in the wild. I am disgusted by what I have seen at Sea World. They claim to be trying to educate people on the animals when really it is all nothing but a circus with the animals being made to perform to attract customers. I am a little more on the fence however when it comes to some other species of dolphins, such as the ones they keep at Vancouver Aquarium. While I do not support the capture of wild dolphins, I do recognize the fact that there are species that actually live longer and perhaps healthier lives in captivity than in the wild. One of the neat things at the Vancouver Aquarium is that none of the dolphins were captured for the purpose of entertainment: they were all animals that were rescued after getting caught and injured in fishing nets and are unable to return to the wild due to their injuries. I have seen the shows and the aquarium are truly focused more on educating visitors than trying to entertain them at the animals' expense.
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Don't support it anymore
I think we should move on from having dolphins in captivity now - we all know this isn't good for them.
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The Pacaya Samiria National Reserve is a magical place. The flora, fauna, remoteness and beauty are exquisite. Another interesting aspect is how the indigenous people there live. To learn more and see photos taken by indigenous children in the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, you can visit ninosdelaamazonia.org
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