Abby Telscher
Mrs. Hinker
Bell 5
13 May 2018
Little Blue Penguins Little Blue Penguins are the smallest of the Penguin species, ranking in at around 13 inches tall and weigh the average of 3-5 pounds. The females appear smaller than the males, and are commonly darker in color. They have a white chin that carries all the way down to the rest of their body. (BioExpedition) These types of penguins are commonly found is areas of Southern Australia and New Zealand. Little Blue Penguins spend most of their lives in water, or shady and rocky environments. In these environments, that can live up to 6 years. Yet, if in an indoor facility they can live up to 20 years of age. Depending on the environment, many penguins take or find their feedings close to water. Their diet consists of fish, squid, and small sea animals. (BioExpedition) These animal begin mating around the age of 2 for a female, and around age 3 for a male. Their main way to recognize their mate, is with their very distinct mating call. The average amount of current Little Penguins is around 350,000 to 600,000, so there clearly is no worries about extinction anytime soon.
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Bumblefoot is an inflammatory condition of the soles of the feet that, if treated quickly and aggressively, can be resolved without causing long-term or significant damage to a bird. (Wag!) Rickey Kinley, the zoo's senior zookeeper, says the common assumption is that the birds' tendency to stand on dry land for long periods of time (contrary to the lifestyle of these aquatic birds in the wild) leads to the bumblefoot lesions. Penguins are relatively heavy birds, and too much time standing could lead to infections and sores. (RFID Journal) Some symptoms of bumblefoot are swelling, lameness, and redness, but they easy way to detect bumbles are checking for large ulcers on the soles of the penguins’
Piping plovers are small shorebirds that usually lives on sandy beach and is considered to be endangered. It has a pale color that blend perfectly with dry beach sand. During the spring and summer, it appears to have a single black neckband and a narrow black band across its forehead. The plover’s bills and legs are yellowish but their bills have a black tip. During their flight its rump is white in color. The sexes appear similar, in both their size and color. During the winter, their legs and bill gets darker. Piping plovers are seen in small flocks or singularly.
For this evolution project, I choose to research Penguins. The classification for this animal is as follows: K Neornithes, P Palaeognathae, C Neognathae, O Pelecaniformes, F Procellariformes, G Graviidae, S Spheniscidae. The first fossil penguin that was found, is today being held in the British Museum of Natural History. It was reportedly found by an anonymous Maori in New Zealand in 1859 and was named Palaeeudyptes Antarcticus despite the fact that the species was located far away from Antarctica. Since that discovery many more fossils were found and were dated back to the Miocene era and three others from the Pliocene era. Several fossils were dated to the Late Pliocene era and others from the Recent era. The earliest avian fossil found in the southern hemisphere is said to have existed in the Eocene age about 38-54 million years ago. There is evidence that at least three of the modern penguins (Aptenodytes, Spheniscus and Pygoscelis) went extinct within the last 4-5 million years. The remainder of the penguins are from 5-40 million years ago, dating back to the time currently recorded, when penguins evolved from other modern birds. Research suggests that the tallest of these penguins were about 6 feet tall. Penguins did originate from an ancestor that flew some 40 million years ago. The common ancestor is assumed to have been somewhat similar to a modern-day diving petrel or auk in appearance and behavior.
Puffins live at sea while not mating or raising young. They glide across the water, swim on the surface of the ocean, and dive to depths of nearly 200 feet to get their food. Puffins commonly spend their entire winter at sea. Young puffins will spend two to three years out at sea before returning to land to mate.
As summer approaches, blue whales migrate to feeding grounds near the north or south poles. Concentrations of krill are greatest in these areas during the summer, and it is then that the whales eat huge amounts of food. Groups of blue whales can be seen at this time, especially around Antarctica. In the fall, after feeding for half a year, the whales begin to swim toward warmer water to mate and to give birth to their young in the warmer, calmer water. Females give birth to one calf every two or three years. Newborn calves are about 23 ft long and weigh almost 6000 lbs. The hungry babies may drink more than 50 gal of rich milk from their mothers daily, and grow very quickly, gaining up to 200 lbs a day.
Clubfoot is a common congenital deformity of one or both feet. Clubfoot can sometimes be identified during fetal ultrasound or by visual inspection at birth. Physiotherapist Kelly Gray and Doctor Paul Gibbons describe clubfoot (Australian Family Practice (AFP), 2012) as “a deformity characterized by structural equinus (pointing down), adductus (turning in), varus (twisting, such that the heel is pointing in or upward), and cavus (high arch)” (p. 299). Skeletal abnormalities of clubfoot can include small calcaneus, navicular, and talus bones and a misshapen subtalar joint (Clubfoot, 2011). According to the Mayo Clinic (2013) the calf muscle of the affected leg is usually smaller than the non-affected leg, and the affected foot can be ½ inch shorter than the non-affected foot.
Thanks to evolution, Penguins have evolved into a group of aquatic, fightless birds, that are highly adapted to life in the ocean. This not only makes them one of the divergent and strange species of birds, but also has allowed them to become such a sucessful species. Penguins are mostly located in the Southern hemisphere ranging anywhere from the Galapogos to the Antartic. Throughout their lives, Penguins spend around half their time in the ocean doing things such as catching food and the other half on land raising their young. Their distinct tuxedo-like apperience called countershading camoflages their bodies, protecting them from predators above and below. Through out the “stepping stones”, the penguins grew to have a dense bone containing
If the cold weather this time of year causes your feet to itch, burn and develop painful blisters, you may be suffering from a common condition called chilblains or pernio.
The iconic Plastic Pink Flamingo lawn ornament was launched during 1957 in Leominster, Massachusetts and was sold beginning in 1958. The omnipresent flamingo became a cultural American icon over the years, and the inspiration for films, such as the campy smash success, 1972's "Pink Flamingos," produced by John Waters, and the Disney featured "Featherstone" in 2011. The pink plastic flamingo yard ornament also appeared in the film, "Gnomeo and Juliet."
Clubfoot is defined as a congenital foot deformity characterized by a kidney shaped foot that turns inward and points down. The forefoot is curved inward, the heel is bent inward, and the ankle is fixed in planter flexion with the toes pointing down. Shortened tendons on the inside of the lower leg, together with abnormally shaped bones that restrict movement outwards cause the foot to turn inwards. A tightened achilles tendon causes the foot to point downwards. The medical term for clubfoot is talipes equinovarus . It is the most common congenital disorder of the lower extremity. There are several variations, but talipes equinovarus being the most common. Clubfeet occurs in approximately 1 in every 800-1000 babies, being twice as common in boys than girls. One or both feet may be affected.
When people think of parrots, they think of the rainforest and when they picture fish, they think of the ocean. No fish could survive out of the water and no parrot would survive in the ocean. Everyone would think they would be completely different animals and there wouldn’t be an animal with both bird and fish features. Despite this thought, the blue parrotfish makes its home in the tropic oceans. Most people haven’t heard of a blue parrotfish, but it has many unique features that are interesting and help it stand out.
After watching March of the Penguins I was browsing the internet while I was trying to figure out which direction to take the essay in, because there were too many possibilities for the topic. Soon I found myself watching Monty Python, when the perfect sketch to start this paper on comes on. A newspaper reporter comes on saying "Penguins, yes penguins what relevance do penguins have with the furtherance of medical science? Well strangely enough quite a lot" He moves into a joke about research not being accidental. Then he picks up of the penguins "Nevertheless scientists believe that these penguins, these comic flightless web-footed little b@$#ards are un-wittingly helping man to fathom the uncharted depths of the human mind." The news cast flips to the scientist who introduces himself then states "...having been working on the theory postulated by the late Dr. Kramer that the penguin in intrinsically more intelligent than the human being." From there a multitude of science spoofs lead to the confirmation of this theory of penguins being smarter, even though it is clearly pointed out that the penguin's brain is smaller than of a human being. This causes the penguins to rise up and take over the roles of humans. After careful consideration I decided to discuss this clip as there really is no better way to introduce how animals are used in film as entertainment. Whether it is a crazy Monty Python sketch or the heartwarming love story that is March of the Penguins both were created for many reasons, but the most influential was the desire to earn money. For now just keep Monty Python on the back burner it will have significance later, lets shift to dealing with the questions being posed about March of the Penguins. How did March o...
After the blocks died out, pony bead seeds grew on the island. These very tiny seeds caused some difficulty for the birds studied. All finches, with the exception of Tosserus saladis, increased slight to moderately.
Also, the word pinguis, which is from the Latin, means fat.” The discovery of the first penguins were in 1520 according to the history of Magellan’s circumnavigation. Actually, the studies show that there are 18 species of penguins in the world.
Simpson, George Gaylord. Penguins: Past and Present, Here and There. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1976.