Penguin holidays are perfect p-p-p-pick me up for Julia

By Jenna Raffaelli

A woman is so fond of penguins that she has travelled thousands of miles just to visit them in different colonies.

Julie Odell, 43, has been as far afield New Zealand, the Falkland Islands and even Antarctica to see the birds in their natural habitat.

Her home in Edinburgh – which has penguin figures on the gate – is stuffed full of cuddly toys, fridge magnets and pictures.

PICK ME UP: Julie Odell with King penguins in the Falklands

Julie, a former nurse, spends hours watching Gentoo penguins at Edinburgh Zoo via a webcam and hopes to travel to see them at the Galapagos islands.

She said: “I just love these funny little birds. They are so unusual.”

But it takes huge patience and dedication to catch sight of the birds.

She said: “In the South Island of New Zealand I would wait for hours in a chilly bird hide to see the illusive yellow-eyed penguin come in from the sea. I also saw African penguins on Boulders Beach in South Africa and Gentoo penguins in Antarctica and South Georgia.”

Penguins at Edinburgh Zoo become webcam sensation

By Cara Sulieman

A PILOT trial of a webcam watching penguins at Edinburgh Zoo has been such a hit that it is to be made a permanent fixture.

It was set up in June to capture the Gentoo penguins nesting and bringing up their young and has been attracting 9000 visitors a month so far.

There was even a massive Twitter campaign to get it back up and running after technical hitches saw the camera go down briefly.

Bosses admit they never expected the scheme to be as popular as it has been and are now looking at rolling out the idea to other animal enclosures.

Record number of penguin chick birds at Edinburgh Zoo

By Oliver Farrimond

PENGUINS at Edinburgh Zoo have p-p-p-picked up some new arrivals – 30 newly-hatched chicks from a record-setting clutch of 112 eggs.

It is the first time the zoo’s famous colony of gentoo penguins have laid more than 100 eggs, a symbolic figure in the centenary year of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland.

There are more than 80 eggs still to be hatched, and the head keeper of penguins put the springtime clutch of hatchlings down to a rise in loved-up, first-time penguin couples.

It was the arrival of three king penguins from a 1914 expedition that gave the zoo its global reputation, as these were the first penguins ever seen outside their South Atlantic homeland.

Penguins remain one of the most popular attractions at the zoo, with the daily “penguin parade” continuing to attract large numbers of visitors to this day.

Penguins protest outside Scottish Parliament

By Oliver Farrimond

HOLYROOD was given the cold shoulder yesterday as a group of penguins visited the Scottish parliament in a bid to raise awareness of climate change.

The seven furry activists built a fake Antarctic habitat using snow machines and icebergs.

Organised by Friends of the Earth Scotland, the event was aimed to urge Scottish politicians to back the upcoming Scottish Climate Change Bill.

Corinne Evans, head of campaigns at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: “We’re honoured that these animals have taken time out from fighting for their own survival to come to remind us that we don’t have to suffer the same fate.

“The message is clear – we need urgent action on climate change, and we need the MSPs in the Paliament to rise to the challenge and make sure we have it.

“The world’s eyes are on Scotland – a strong law here will have a massive knock-on effect on forthcoming laws around the world.”