Penguins News Update - August 2006

The Penguins are currently undergoing their annual moult. This is when they lose all of last years old feathers and their new feathers for this year come through. Just before they start to moult they eat more than usually so they can fatten themselves up as when they are moulting they do not eat very much. They also become quite grumpy and don´t swim so we make sure they stay cool by spraying them with water and by giving them extra fluids in their food. They can look quite ill during their moult but this time of year is quite uncomfortable for them so they just stand around in the shade feeling sorry for themselves. In another two weeks they will have finished and will have all their new feathers and be running around and causing mischief again.

Hunstanton SEA LIFE Sanctuary / hunstanton@sealsanctuary.co.uk