I don't know if anyone else heard about this or not, but on NPR this
morning, they were discussing a Humbolt's Penguin that some fishermen had
caught with the rest of their catch off the coast of Alaska. For those of you
who don't know where they are form or didn't hear the story, they're native to
southern Chile and Argentina.
The reporter asked if it could have escaped from a zoo (although, since
they can't fly, I can't see how that could have happened. I imagine a penguin
walking through downtown Juneau or Fairbanks would have been noticed). The
expert they talked to said that it probably hitched a ride on a fishing boat
and then escaped. He said that many fishermen (or was it people in general?)
down there keep them as pets. He also said that it was highly unlikely it would
have swam the nearly 10,000 miles from Chile to Alaska, as it would have had to
pass through the much warmer equatorial waters, where the fishing (from a
Humbolt's point-of-view) isn't quite so good. Thought I'd pass it along.
Michael Shapiro
Richmond (Henrico)
sc.tanager@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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