penguin news stories on Newser

Guys Break Into Sea World, Steal Penguin

Kevin Spak — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 11:49:05 CDT

Usually, we mock criminals when they brag about their crimes on Facebook . But if your crime was breaking into a Sea World, swimming with the dolphins, and making off with a 7-year-old fairy penguin, we understand the urge to share. Three Queensland, Australia men, aged 18, 20, and 21, have...

Newt Gingrich Bit by Penguin

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 06:28:00 CDT

At least one penguin at the St. Louis Zoo appears to be a feisty opponent of Newt Gingrich. The GOP candidate is sporting a bandage on his finger after getting nipped by a small penguin during his tour of the zoo on Friday. Gingrich was in St. Louis to speak...

Tokyo on the Hunt for Escaped Penguin

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 08:59:05 CST

It sounds like the premise of a Disney movie, and hopefully it will have a happy ending: Aquarium officials are searching for a penguin who fled from the Tokyo Sea Life Park and was last seen swimming "at a tremendous speed" in a river headed toward Tokyo Bay. The one-year-old...

Scientists Lose Track of 'Happy Feet' Penguin

Rob Quinn — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 03:16:27 CDT

The story of "Happy Feet," the wayward emperor penguin that turned up in New Zealand, has captivated the world, but we may never know how it ends. The young penguin was returned to the wild last week and a transmitter that was attached to him has stopped relaying information to...

120K Following Penguin Via Webcam

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 12:47:16 CDT

Happy Feet is now a creature of the Internet age. The wayward emperor penguin, discovered on a New Zealand beach six weeks ago, will soon be returned to the wild —but not before he picked up an online following of more than 120,000. That's how many unique visitors have...

Zoo Plans Release of Lost Penguin

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 15:44:48 CDT

A young emperor penguin that turned up on a New Zealand beach won't be getting a free ride all the way back to its Antarctic home—but the bird's human friends will at least help it get a little closer. Today, an advisory group headed by the nation's Department of...

Wayward Penguin Better After Surgery

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 13:05:05 CDT

New Zealand's favorite penguin visitor is more lively and eating fish after undergoing endoscopic surgery today to remove some of the beach sand and twigs it swallowed, apparently mistaking it for snow. Full recovery for the young emperor penguin—nicknamed Happy Feet—may take months, and officials are still uncertain...

Lost Penguin Moved to NZ Zoo

Rob Quinn — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 04:02:25 CDT

Conservation officials in New Zealand have decided against letting nature take its course with a young Emperor penguin who turned up on a beach 2,000 miles from his Antarctic home. The penguin—nicknamed "Happy Feet"—was moved to a zoo in Wellington after his health appeared to take a...

Fossil of 5-Foot-Tall Penguin Found in Peru

Emily Rauhala — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 07:00:00 CDT

It sounds both adorable and fearsome: A red penguin that stands nearly five feet tall. Researchers in Peru have unearthed the fossil of just such a creature, a giant penguin that waddled its way around the world some 36 million years ago. The creature may have lacked the modern bird...