Penguins rock at Edinburgh Zoo!

Everybody loves a penguin. These naturally inquisitive, flightless birds waddle and hop over rocks, toboggan along on their stomachs, and have the ability to swim faster and dive deeper than any other bird. Highly sociable creatures, they communicate by sign language using their heads and flippers, and attract more than a little attention wherever they go. Whether in a zoo or observed in their natural habitat by those of us fortunate enough to have this opportunity, the penguin will amuse and entertain, loving an audience and the chance to show off. Comical, endearing, loveable, and captivating, they hold us spellbound as they move with ease through the water delighting us with their antics.
The penguins who reside at Edinburgh Zoo have more than most to be proud of. Launched in the centenary year of the Zoo, the penguin pool - Penguin Rock - has been revamped, and their impressive new enclosure has enhanced the whole experience for both penguin and visitor alike. Unique, exciting, innovative, up close and personal, you will spend more than a few moments enjoying the penguins and their posh pool. Lower perimeters made from glass and wood bring you within touching distance of the birds, enhanced viewing areas give superb observation platforms, and the penguins themselves gave inspiration to the interactive interpretation display. Feathers, eggs, nesting rings and parasols all feature.
And the pool itself? Clear aqua blue water, mock sandy beaches, rocks, a beautiful stone waterfall, a carved rock diving board and a water chute all ensure hours of fun for penguin and visitor alike. So bring on the Penguin Olympics. Edinburgh would certainly win its fair share of gold medals! Watch how elegantly they move through the water, leaping out every few feet in a move known as porpoising and which enthralls all who see it. This helps them to breathe, coating their plumage with tiny bubbles to reduce friction - or so they tell me. And you can also watch the penguins under water through one of the glass sides to the enclosure, yet
another awe-inspiring sight.

So where did the penguins go whilst their new home was under construction? Some remained at Edinburgh Zoo. A number of gentoos popped off to Belfast or Denmark for a holiday, and the king penguins languished in Gloucestershire for the renovation period. Now they are all firmly ensconced in their new state-of-the-art residence, a major attraction at the Zoo has resumed. The world famous Penguin Parade, the pride of the Zoo since 1951, draws the crowds and is the envy of all the other Zoo's inhabitants. It is lovely to watch them waddle as only penguins can, over the penguin brick footprints. A nice way of raising "penguin pennies", they carry  

personal messages, dedications made in remembrance of or for loved ones. How did this parade originate? In 1951 a keeper left the enclosure door open, and a quick-thinking gentoo escaped. But rather than recapture this miscreant, the keeper decided to see what would happen next. Followed by other penguins, they marched down the walkway of the Zoo to Corstophine Road and back - and the Penguin Parade was born. Go to Edinburgh Zoo, peruse  Penguin Rock, peep at the Penguin Parade, and pop in again and again. Oh for the life of a penguin ......... You may even catch feeding time. Now there's another fishy experience!!