Penguins

I'm not sure why I feel such a connection to penguins. I think it dates back to my childhood because once when I was probably 9 or 10 (or maybe younger) I decided to do a report on penguins. I don't remember why I chose penguins of all things (the only other report I remember writing while I was homeschooled was on William Shakespeare) but I vaguely remember doing research and organizing the facts on index cards. But my real fascination with and love of penguins began when I was in my teens and my older sister gave me the nickname "Penguini" (my pen name on this blog).

And now as I sit here in front of the Antarctic part of the Biodome in Montreal, watching the penguins being fed, I find my fascination only growing. Here I am seeing king penguins up close and in person for the first time and marvelling at how differently they act from the other kinds of penguins. The gentoo penguins in this exhibit are full of energy, diving in and out of the water and seeming to show off to the onlookers at times with their fancy swimming. The rockhoppers and macaroni penguins are more laid back but still moving around a bit and...well, hopping on the rocks! And then there are the king penguins. They are the largest in this exhibit (and the biggest I've ever seen, the emporer penguins are the only bigger ones) but they only come up to abou tthe thigh of the man feeding them (maybe 3' tall). They seem calm and peaceful and proud. Standing quietly to one side, only walking around a little bit. They look magestic and like they are the "parents" of the other breeds in the exhibit. My favorite kind of penguins before were the little blue (aka fairy) penguins that live in Australia but I feel a strong pull towards these bigger and much more peaceful ones. I'm envious of the man inside the exhibit feeding them, talking to them (although I can't hear it because the exhibit is encased in glass, being that it's very cold inside the exhibit). I want to have real contact with penguins sometime in my life.

For now I'll just take the chance to sit here with them and marvel at their elegance in the midst of clumsiness. Flightless birds, out of place in the animal kingdom. But it just goes to show that being different can be wonderful. And just because your wings can't bring you inot the sky doesn't mean you won't find a way to fly. The water is their air and in the ocean they can soar.



Yours,
Penguini