Posted on January 29, 2011 - by Jennifer

Australia is for…Penguins?

This St Kilda Penguin checks out a lady penguin on the next rock

Yes, you read right.  There are penguins in Australia. They are classified by the scientific community as Eudyptula Minor and by us as adorable .  And as luck would have it, when the sun goes down, they like to hang out at St Kilda Pier which is about a 15 minute walk from our apartment.

Hundreds of these tiny, fairy penguins come to relax, to flirt, and to make babies on the breakwater along St Kilda Pier, originally constructed to provide a safe harbor for yachts for the 1956 Olympic Games.¬† The first of these fairy penguins found the breakwater in 1974 and they liked it so much they told all their friends and now it’s a penguin sanctuary, making it illegal to “harass or handle” a penguin there.¬† By day, these penguins frolic and feed in the bay but nighttime is the right time and when the sun sets they clamber over, through, and around the rocks of the breakwater, puffing out their little penguin chests so far you think they might topple over.¬† As they stick their chests forward, they stretch their wings back in what I imagine is the penguin equivalent of flexing your pecs or wearing a low-cut top.¬† As they posture and pose, they also make this very distinctive call to one another. Many of them doing this together is very, very loud.¬† And also very funny. ¬† I really cannot describe the sound but here is a link to a recording someone made of it so you can experience it for yourself http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:20091121_Little_Penguin_calls_at_St_Kilda_Breakwater.ogg

These penguins are at once dignified in their black and white with their proud chests and ridiculous in their rather ungraceful waddling.¬† While I am sure they are nimble in the water, they frequently slip and tumble as they try to move amongst the rocks.¬† And you can kind of imagine the sorry penguin who approaches a potential mate only to topple over.¬† “Hey, little lady, I’ve spent a long day hunting tiny fishes and I’d just like to kick it with you for a whi-oooooooooool (sound of falling penguin) “Nope, I’m good, thanks.¬† Just gonna waddle away now.”