THE ADVENTURES OF PERIWINKLE & STINKY: PART CCCXXIV

Stinky is waiting by the teleportation tunnel for Periwinkle’s arrival. He’s not waiting long before he sees the tunnel vibrate. Periwinkle comes tumbling out with a whoosh. Stinky sets her upright and plants a whisker kiss on her cheek. Then he grabs his backpack and Periwinkle’s paw and leads her back into the teleportation tunnel. Stinky sets the proper coordinates and with another whoosh they are off on today’s adventure … destination Chile.

Chile

When Periwinkle and Stinky arrive at their destination and exit their tunnel, Periwinkle remarks about how warm it is. That’s when Stinky tells her they are in Chile in the Southern Hemisphere where it is summer and the temperature is 73 degrees.

“What are we doing in Chile?” Periwinkle immediately asks.

“We are here to meet some penguins, as today is Penguin Awareness Day,” replies Stinky. He continues, “Outside Antarctica, penguins can be found in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Peru, Chile, the Galapagos Islands, and the Falkland Islands. Chile is home to nine of the 18 recognized species of penguins.” Stinky pulls from his backpack a chart with photos of all the different species and shares it with Periwinkle.

 

 

“Which ones are we going to see, Stinky?”

“We don’t have time to see them all, so I have selected three of the species: the Magallanic, Humboldt and King. They all look different, and we should be able to identify them easily.”

“Where should we start?“ Periwinkle asks.

Magellanic Penguins

“If we go to the Monumento Natural Islotes de Puñihuil, we can visit both Humboldt and Magellanic penguins. There is no other place where we can see both types of penguins together. To protect the breeding colony of these two species Puñihuil was declared a Natural Monument in 1999.”

“That sounds perfect,” replies Periwinkle.

Stinky tells Periwinkle that Magellanic penguins are found on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Chile, Argentina and the Falkland Islands. They have two black breast bands and dense feathers. They stand 24 to 30 inches tall with a weight of 6 to 14.3 pounds. The males are larger than the females with an average weight of 10 pounds.

 

 

“Stinky, they are so cute! Look at the two kissing ones,” exclaims Periwinkle.

Stinky smiles and nods and tells Periwinkle, “The Magellanic penguins prefer burrows in soft soil or under bushes. They have a varied diet including krill, fish and squid. In total there are around 1,800,000 breeding pairs and populations in Chili are increasing. Their status, however, is near threatened.”

“I cannot imagine anything cuter, but let’s check out the Humboldt ones,” says Periwinkle.

Humboldt Penguins

Stinky tells Periwinkle about the Humboldt penguins. “They have one black breast band and pink eye patches. They range in size from 22 to 28 inches tall and weigh from 6.4 to 13.2 pounds.

 

 

“These are super cute as well. I like their little polka dots,” Periwinkle tells Stinky.

Stinky replies, “These penguins nest on rocky shores with guano deposits and eat small fish (anchovies and sardines). They are classified as vulnerable due to climate change effecting their supply of food.”

Stinky takes a can of sardines from his backpack, and he and Periwinkle toss them to the penguins nearby.

Then they jump into the teleportation tunnel so they can visit the King penguins.

King Penguins

Stinky shares some information with Periwinkle about the King penguin, “The King Penguin Nature Reserve (Reserva Natural Pingüino Rey) in Tierra del Fuego is the sanctuary for this second largest penguin. It has a characteristic orange color at its upper chest, at the sides of its head and in a lateral line on its beak. The colony of king penguins arrived in the area in 2010. After that the nature reserve was installed to ensure their protection. The colony originally consisted of eight penguins but with the help of biologists, archaeologists and local experts, it has since grown to include approximately 200 individuals.

 

 

“Stinky, look at that fuzzy chick. I can’t believe it will change so drastically when it becomes an adult.”

“That definitely will be a huge change, Periwinkle, agrees Stinky.” He proceeds to tell her, “A King penguin is from 28 to 39 inches tall and weighs between 21 to 40 pounds with males generally being larger than females. King penguins can dive to depths of 300 feet to hunt for food. Their diet consists of various varieties of fish (lanterfish being the favorite), krill and squid.”

“Stinky, what else do you have in your backpack. I could sure use a snack.”

“I brought some frozen, cooked squid for these penguins. It has probably thawed by now.”

“Is it okay for cats to eat squid?” asks Periwinkle.

“Yes, as long as it is cooked and not seasoned. It is high-quality lean (low fat) protein and contains Omega-3 fatty acids, as well as minerals including zinc, iron and magnesium and vitamins A, B12 and E. All of those things are good for us cats.”

“Okay, I’ll give it a try,” replies Periwinkle.

Cats as Penguins

“Before we eat, I have something else in my backpack,” says Stinky as he pulls out two penguin costumes.

“Are we going to wear those?”

“Yep, if we are going to eat like penguins, let’s look like penguins,” Stinky replies as he hands a costume to Periwinkle.

They climb into their costumes and each take some squid for themselves and some for a nearby penguin.

 

 

“Periwinkle, you look especially cute,” says Stinky. Periwinkle smiles and thanks him for the compliment.

Penguin Appreciation Day

“Periwinkle I think I should tell our readers a bit more about Penguin Appreciation Day. What do you think?”

“That’s an excellent idea.”

“Well, it actually is an informal observance. Unlike many other ecological observances, it is unofficial and not affiliated with any environmental organization. It is unclear who or when it was created, but it is celebrated annually on January 20 and gives us the opportunity to learn about and commemorate these unusual birds.

“Periwinkle, I had planned to share a list of all the zoos in the United States where one can visit penguins, but the list was much too long. Our friends, I know, can look that information up for themselves. I did find, however, that the penguin species in most U.S. zoos is the African penguin.

“I do have one final thing I would like to share. Here’s of photo of my dad with a penguin in Brazil in 2008. I think it is a Magellanic penguin chick. That species migrates there when it is winter in the Southern Hemisphere.”

 

 

“Now that is too, too sweet,” gushes Periwinkle.

Heading Home

It is very late in the day and time for the tabbies to head home. Stinky sets the teleportation tunnel’s coordinates for Periwinkle’s house. When they get there, Stinky runs inside, gives Mom Sharon a hug and says, “hi,” to Periwinkle’s sisfurs. He and Periwinkle spend several minutes whisker kissing and whispering, “l love you.” Then with a wave and a blown kiss, Stinky enters the teleportation tunnel, sets the coordinates for home and is gone in a whoosh.

The End

Periwinkle and Stinky will be participating in the Happy Tuesday blog hop hosted by Sandee at Comedy Plus. To do the same, click on the Happy badge.