Friendly-Fishy Blog » Gentoo http://friendly-fishy.com/blog A blog for aquarium enthusiasts, both new and veteran. Tue, 24 Aug 2010 12:44:03 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 A Blizzard of Feathers Inside Penguins’ Rock http://tennesseeaquarium.blogspot.com/2009/09/blizzard-of-feathers-inside-penguins.html http://tennesseeaquarium.blogspot.com/2009/09/blizzard-of-feathers-inside-penguins.html#comments Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:33:00 +0000 The Aquarium Blogger tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5745696822692754251.post-7835323476328522220 The other day Amy Graves, Loribeth Aldrich and the penguin volunteers had their hands full. There are feathers all over the place inside Penguins' Rock. Welcome to molting season! The gentoo and macaronis are currently all stages of molting right now. One Gentoo, “Blue” is completely finished molting, and has jumped back in the water for swimming. The tail feathers are slower to grow in, so he doesn’t have much of a tail right now, but the other feathers are nice and sleek. There are eight Macaronis molting, and they are grumpy right now. It’s not uncommon to see more aggression between birds during this time. “Merlin” is the only Macaroni who hasn’t even fattened up to molt yet, though he should soon, and of course the new chick will not molt this season. Among the Gentoos, “Nipper” and “Bug” are fattening and just about ready to molt, and “Biscuit” is in the midst of it. The Macaroni chick is still gradually being introduced to the water and the colony, but still has not gone for his/her first swim yet.
]]> http://tennesseeaquarium.blogspot.com/2009/09/blizzard-of-feathers-inside-penguins.html/feed/ 0 Are We There Yet? http://tennesseeaquarium.blogspot.com/2009/09/are-we-there-yet.html http://tennesseeaquarium.blogspot.com/2009/09/are-we-there-yet.html#comments Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:19:00 +0000 The Aquarium Blogger tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5745696822692754251.post-2010396311380212401


You know the old line about traveling with kids by car: "Are we there yet?" You probably don't hear that often coming to Chattanooga since the central location makes it an easy drive for many folks.



"Are we there yet?" seems fitting in another way this year. While it seems like the summer season has flown by, Labor Day falls on September 7th this year, the latest possible date for the holiday.

A three-day weekend is always worth waiting for, but now the wait is worth even more.

Simply point and click your way to http://www.tnaqua.org/LaborDayPromo.asp to print a special Labor Day coupon to save on a getaway to the Tennessee Aquarium.

You’re taking 3 days off, so why not take $3 off Aquarium admission?

Great things come in threes at the Tennessee Aquarium.

Chill out with the Tennessee Aquarium’s newest penguin trios:
Macaroni penguin family Paulie, Chaos & baby
Gentoo penguin family Zeus, Pebbles & baby

Three new animal encounter specialists introduce guests to cool critters every hour of every day in both Aquarium buildings.

Three divers in the daily Secret Reef dive shows.

Three new hands-on interactive exhibits added in 2009.

Discover the decorated home of the Chinese three-striped box turtle.

Pose with three, (or more) of your friends inside the “Blue Water, White Death” shark cage.

Three-hour sunset cruises aboard the River Gorge Explorer.

Enjoy all three: Tennessee Aquarium, IMAX 3D Theater and River Gorge Explorer.



]]> http://tennesseeaquarium.blogspot.com/2009/09/are-we-there-yet.html/feed/ 0 Update from Penguins’ Rock http://tennesseeaquarium.blogspot.com/2009/07/update-from-penguins-rock.html http://tennesseeaquarium.blogspot.com/2009/07/update-from-penguins-rock.html#comments Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:25:00 +0000 The Aquarium Blogger tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5745696822692754251.post-657632800967460639
Gentoo chick being cared for in backup area of "Penguins' Rock."

Macaroni parents Paulie and Chaos set the gold standard for penguin baby care and the macaroni baby isn't so little any more. In fact, visitors almost do a double take when they realize that the bird inside the acrylic playpen is in fact the baby.

But gentoo parents Bug and Big T were not as diligent as Paulie and Chaos. Penguin keepers began noticing that the parents did not appear to be feeding the chick as often as they should have been. This past weekend the chick was pulled from the exhibit to be fed and hydrated by Aquarium staff. Amy Graves reports that the chick was returned to its parents yesterday afternoon. Apparently they are feeding the baby a little better now, but Graves said they will continue to monitor the situation very closely.

"Paulie and Chaos were an example of the best-case scenario," explained Graves. "They were able to care for their chick while on exhibit with the rest of the colony." That not only helps the pair become better parents in the future, but also helps give the chick a "road map" for the future.

In some ways, the behavior of Bug and Big T has been expected. Both are young, first-time parents. Graves says that Bug was hand-raised which could explain why her parental instincts are not fully developed. "Something may click with these two and they might start taking better care of their chick now," said Graves.

The window for Poncho and Peep's two eggs to hatch opens this Friday. We still do not know if either of their eggs or the two eggs in Zeus and Pebbles nest are viable or not.

Finally, Nipper and Flower continue to work in and around their nest. Nipper was seen laying in their nest and scooping out a depression several times late last week. He spends plenty of time laying in the nest and defending the spot while Flower lays in the nest occasionally.

It's all really fun behavior to see in person.
]]> http://tennesseeaquarium.blogspot.com/2009/07/update-from-penguins-rock.html/feed/ 0 Another Penguin Baby at the Tennessee Aquarium http://tennesseeaquarium.blogspot.com/2009/07/another-penguin-baby-at-tennessee.html http://tennesseeaquarium.blogspot.com/2009/07/another-penguin-baby-at-tennessee.html#comments Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:20:00 +0000 The Aquarium Blogger tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5745696822692754251.post-8748478266461141175 Macaroni baby at one day.

Gentoo baby at one day.

The Tennessee Aquarium has another new addition to "Penguins' Rock." A baby gentoo was born yesterday and so far parents Bug and Big T have been doing a pretty good job with their chick. There has been some concern because these new parents were pretty rough while they were turning and incubating their eggs. In fact, one of the eggs was crushed in the nest and the remaining egg had a small chip out of it. Senior aviculturist Amy Graves showed me the second eggshell and it's amazing that the chip didn't go through to the interior of the shell. But penguin eggs are much thicker than chicken eggs, and therefore durable enough to take some scrapes and bumps in a nest built out of stone. However, one misstep by the parents now could cause injury to this tiny newborn.


One month ago, we watched Paulie and Chaos caring for their tiny baby. There are some differences between the two in the "Day one" photos above. For example, the mac chick is darker and doesn't resemble the parents at this early stage. However, the lighter colored gentoo chick already sports an orange beak and white circle around the eyes like its parents. But the baby doesn't have the signature gentoo white head stripe yet.


The baby macaroni penguin started off with light gray feet, but now they are turning pink like the adult macaronis. Notice that it still lacks the signature "macaroni" crest feathers in this more recent image.
You'll also notice how quickly this youngster has grown. The baby macaroni can be heard in the gallery while visiting the Tennessee Aquarium now. His loud calls are keeping Paulie and Chaos on a busy feeding schedule. This growing penguin seems to be famished all the time.
By the way, the weather is supposed to be spectacular this weekend. Have you seen the forecast? http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?site=hun&map.x=316&map.y=93
Perfect for a visit to Chattanooga, the Tennessee Aquarium and a cruise aboard the River Gorge Explorer. www.tnaqua.org



]]> http://tennesseeaquarium.blogspot.com/2009/07/another-penguin-baby-at-tennessee.html/feed/ 0 Oh Baby! One hatchling and yet another egg. http://tennesseeaquarium.blogspot.com/2009/06/oh-baby-one-hatchling-and-yet-another.html http://tennesseeaquarium.blogspot.com/2009/06/oh-baby-one-hatchling-and-yet-another.html#comments Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:39:00 +0000 The Aquarium Blogger tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5745696822692754251.post-2470494945772670685 This picture shows senior aviculturist Amy Graves checking in on Paulie, Chaos and the new macaroni penguin chick. It was shortly after this image was taken when Amy heard the baby vocalizing. "I heard a soft, but strong, 'peep, peep, peep.' Paulie spent most of the day keeping the newborn warm. It wasn't until about 8:15 pm last night that he was relieved by Chaos. During that "shift change," we got a good look at the baby. It has soft, slate-gray downy feathers and a very cute little beak. Visitors will have limited viewing of the new chick over the next couple of days as Paulie and Chaos will continue to keep it covered and warm. But viewing opportunities should improve if everything continues to go well. The parents should start feeding the chick which will allow for some interesting viewing from time to time. Graves says the parents should feed the baby three to five times daily. Should the chick need more food, gets dehydrated or is being pestered by other penguins, Aquarium keepers will take the baby off exhibit and place it in a brooder. Graves says this warming shelter keeps the baby warm and comfortable, simulating being under the parents. They also have all of the ingredients to produce "penguin milkshakes" for the baby. This nutritionally balanced formula would be fed to the chick three to five times daily, similar to what the parents should do. Penguin infants face a number of challenges, so we'll hope Paulie and Chaos continue to be good parents and that the chick can remain strong and keep growing.

Today, Graves found another surprise. "Peep" has laid her first egg. So we should see her second egg within a few days. Like the other gentoo eggs, we won't know for awhile whether or not Peep's egg is viable.

So here is where we stand today:

Macaroni - "Paulie" & "Chaos" - one baby

Gentoo - "Big T" & "Bug" - two eggs
"Blue" & "Biscuit" - one egg
"Poncho" & "Peep" - one egg
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