African Penguins

On our vacation this year to Gatlinburg, Tennessee we went to Ripleys Aquarium of the Smokies. At Ripleys Aquarium there are lots of things to do.  One of my favorite things to do is to go see the African penguins. I love birds in general, so I love to see the penguins. When it is time to feed the penguins you can watch the people feed them.  We didn't get to watch this year, but it is something to see.

THE  AFRICAN PENGUIN'S HABITAT

Ripleys Aquarium gives their penguins a rocky area to live in with den-like places for them to go inside of. They have plenty of water to swim in and drink. They also have an area outside that they can swim to and you can see them if you go to the outside area.  There are no pictures of this area because it was raining and we didn't have an umbrella.



MEET EDDIE
Eddie is a six year old African Penguin. We stop by to see Eddie every time we go because our grandpa's name is Ed. All the penguins have a tag around one of their wings.  Eddie has a blue tag wrapped around his wing that has his name on it that can be seen in all the pictures of him.

SWIM NOT FLY
Penguins can't fly, but they can swim. The penguins have plenty of swimming area inside and outside. Their wings are different than the wings of birds that can fly, so they can't fly but they can swim underwater. Their body shape also helps them swim underwater.

Maggie



Riley

PENGUINS ON LAND
Penguins have webbed flat feet. They might seem a bit clumsy on land, but that's because their legs are close together and short, and they wobble back and forth when they walk.

MOLTING
A molt is a when a bird  loses their feathers and gets new feathers. They might look scrappy when they're in a molt, but they can't  keep the same feathers forever.