Penguins continue to waddle into the heart of pop culture

No matter the language or the culture, you can almost guarantee there's a penguin—either as a plush toy or an animated character—entertaining a child.

Penguins are popular around the world primarily for their unusually upright, waddling pace, their magnificent swimming ability, and (compared to other birds) lack of fear of humans.Their striking black and white plumage is often likened to a tuxedo suit and generates humorous remarks about the bird being "well dressed."

The bird is typically depicted as a friendly and comical figure. The 1960s television cartoon character "Tennessee Tuxedo" would often escape the confines of his zoo with his partner, Chumley, the walrus.In the children's movie " Madagascar," the penguins are cast as spies. In the animated series, "Wallace and Gromit," a penguin called Feathers McGraw disguises himself as a chicken with a red rubber glove.Comic strip readers are familiar with the slightly goofy, yet humble, "Opus," the penguin main character in Berke Breathed's comic strips Bloom County, Outland, and Opus.

While these penguins are often portrayed as friendly and smart, the current penguin craze can be traced to the 2005 French documentary "March of the Penguins" which featured the voice of actor Morgan Freeman detailing a year in the life of a colony of Emperor Penguins mating, giving birth, and hunting for food in the harsh continent of Antarctica.This film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Film in 2005.

In 2006, the movie "Happy Feet" became a huge hit as the tap-dancing of Savion Glover launched Mumbles (the animated dancing penguin) to fame. This summer, parents are going to hear their children sequel to see "Surf's Up," a stylistically daring CGI animated "mockementary" feature based on the groundbreaking revelation that surfing was actually invented by penguins. The story focuses on Cody, a rockhopper penguin that hails from the warm waters of the Falkland Islands.

Similarly, the Philadelphia Zoo introduced its three new Humboldt penguin chicks to the media this past week. The month-old birds, named Gilligan, Noah and Pancake, are the warm water variety that grows to be twice the size of their cold weather cousins.

Even though Gilligan seems relatively even-tempered in the media glare of the moment, his handler, Amy Ivins reveals, "They all have their very own personalities," she said. "Some are calmer than others."

Humboldt penguin chicks remain inside their burrows until they are almost independent of their parents-usually about 10 to 12 weeks after hatching, and the Zoo's chicks will be on exhibit sometime in late July or early August.

"We handle them when they're chicks and weigh them everyday so they are use to being handled," said Aliza Baltz, curator of birds. However, you wouldn't be able to stand there and hold an adult like that without being nipped. They have very sharp beaks because they catch fish in the water, and so it's almost like a serrated edge to catch fish."

Humboldt penguins are found on the along the coast of Chile and Peru. They nest on islands or on rocky stretches of mainland coast, especially in areas with cliffs.

Conservationists estimate only about 40,000 Humboldt penguins survive in the wild, where they come into conflict with fishermen and others who earn their livelihoods in this coastal area.

Penguins get caught in fishing nets and drown, and local residents collect their eggs for food. Bird droppings, called guano, are a valuable source of nitrogen and are mined from nesting areas and sold as fertilizer. Uncontrolled mining can destroy important penguin nesting sites.

The Philadelphia Zoo has joined with the St. Louis Zoo and the Brookfield Zoo to support Project Punta San Juan, which employs wildlife biologists who monitor penguins and other seabirds on Punta San Juan, the largest penguin-breeding colony in Peru.

The zoo has sent volunteers to monitor guano mining, and zoo educator Siobhan Donnelly traveled to Peru in March to monitor the most recent guano harvest and to work with local teachers to help children learn about these amazing birds and how all of us can protect them.

"The Humboldt penguins are a managed population," said Baltz. "There's a person at another zoo who decides who breeds, who doesn't breed and makes recommendations. We breed the ones who are genetically valuable and so the penguins we send are recommended to populated a brand new exhibit at another zoo. We actually have two pairs that are recommended to come to our zoo to breed next year."

The zoo is in the midst of a project to completely renovate its popular penguin exhibit.

Later this summer, families will find the penguins parading through a newly landscaped, pooled habitat with a sandy beach and rockslide.

At night, the birds will slumber in brand-new burrows. The renovation will not only beautify the penguin habitat, but also will make the zoo's use of water in the exhibit more efficient and conservation-friendly.

Corporate Synergies has committed funding for the new penguin habitat, and chief executive Eric Raymond was on hand— along with his children Sam and Jack — to meet the new chicks last week.

"A long time ago we made the penguin our logo, before all the movies came out," explained Raymond. "Part of it is because penguins are monogamous. They're loyal, adaptive and flexible. But the real reason they became our logo is because Sam, and her brother, Jack, love penguins."

"They're my favorite animals!" added Sam.