They came 507 miles by truck, 13 of them packed in small plastic pet crates, a flood-ravaged home behind them and a capital city before them.No, Virginia, they are not fattening up the penguins for the polar bears.
The African penguins from Minot, N.D., waddled into their public display at Como Zoo in St. Paul on Thursday morning, just a few of the approximately 230 animals evacuated from the Roosevelt Park Zoo that now is under 4 to 14 feet of water.
They zipped around a 5-foot-deep pool, slid down faux rockwork and loudly hee-hawed like donkeys (hence their colloquial name, jackass penguins) as senior zookeeper Allison Jungheim slipped silvery fish into their gaping beaks.
The penguins, which include the Como-hatched male, Squirt, join three bears and 13 frogs evacuated to Como Zoo. The penguins were the first to go on display; the bears are quarantined and will follow in about a week.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Zoos Around The Country Helping Out Minot Zoo -- Due To Flooding -- Penguins Already There; Bears Eager to Arrive
Great human interest story.
