What an awesome Christmas present this was from J. I have always loved Penguins. Anytime we've ever gone to the Aquarium or to the Zoo - the Penguins were a must to go see. Never did I think I would actually get the opportunity to touch one. When I initially started my list - this was one of those things that I thought would take years to get to.
The Friday after Christmas we left Dallas at 5am and headed to Sea World in San Antonio. It was cold and rainy and I could barely contain my excitement as we waited for our guide to come scoop us up and take us to the Penguin exhibit.
We watched a video first on the species of Penguins they had there, what their identifying features are, etc. Then we got to go into the actual exhibit. It was cold! They obviously have to keep the "weather" in there similar to their actual habitat. There were a little over 200 Penguins in there and they house 4 different kinds.
The King Penguin - these Penguins are most similar to the Emperor Penguins. Same features but they are about a foot shorter. They are the second largest species of Penguins.
The Gentoo Penguin - this Penguin is what I consider to be the commercialized Penguin. When you see stuffed animals or figurines of Penguins, they typically have the orange in their beak & matching feet. That is what these Penguins look like.
The Chinstrap Penguin - they literally have a thin black line of hair that goes under their chin and it makes it look like they're wearing a helmet. These Penguins have a little attitude. Our guide warned us of this - not in a way to scare you - but to let us know that they can get a little territorial. For example, J was standing and this little guy kept pecking at his pants so J would move. He would get in his spot that he was standing in and would do it again. This went on for a good 10 minutes and went from one side of the exhibit to the other. It was quite funny!
The Rockhopper Penguin - you guessed it! They are expert rock hoppers! These Penguins are among the worlds smallest and stand about 20 inches tall.
By far, best Christmas present yet. I love that J took something that I wanted to do and made it into real life. It was very thoughtful and so appreciated!
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