Too Cute Tuesday: Tickle Your Penguin
Cookie is a penguin at the Cincinnati Zoo. In this 2010 viral video, his zoo keepers caught on tape one of Cookie’s favorite indulgences. You can hear him seem to giggle with delight (1:03) at getting his head scratched.
However, “Cookie is not giggling in video, but engaging in typical breeding behavior. “Some penguins are more vocal than others,” zoo spokeswoman Tiffany Barnes told Cincinnati.com.
Though Cookie was probably years off from knowing what he was doing. “Breeding may begin at three to four years, but most larger species are not accomplished breeders until much later. On average, breeding does not begin until the fifth year, and a few males do not breed until the eighth year… Courtship varies among species. It generally begins with both visual and auditory displays. In many species, males display first to establish a nest site and then to attract a mate. Not all species exhibit all displays, but in general there are three distinct types of displays.” (SeaWorld)
You can see penguins being penguins on one of the two live cams at the Long Beach Aquarium now.
