Chapter 666: Fighting Over Small Fish

The keeper explained, "During courtship, male penguins attract females through both visual and auditory displays.

First, they swing their heads from side to side, which serves both to declare their territory to other males and to attract passing females.

If a female shows interest, the male continues by loudly braying, singing a romantic song.

If the female accepts the courtship, the two penguins bow to each other, similar to a human couple bowing during a wedding ceremony, to establish their partnership."

"How interesting!"

Liu Wei now found the penguins' braying to be different!

What once seemed noisy and chaotic now had a touch of romance to it.

Given that this was about their lifelong partners, it made sense that they were so enthusiastic.

The penguins were unabashed about their feelings. As soon as one penguin's call ended, another would start braying loudly, afraid that their call might be too soft and another penguin might catch the female's attention.

Soon, the entire group of penguins was braying together, creating a cacophony of braying sounds, making the exhibit lively and vibrant.

The way penguins walked was amusing and funny, waddling with small steps, and hopping with both feet when they encountered steps.

Their wings hung down by their sides, looking like they were wearing oversized-sleeve robes and shuffling around in slippers.

Yumiko said, "In Hokkaido, some zoos have penguin parades where the penguins walk in a line through the snow. It's so fun to watch."

Liu Wei added, "The red pandas here sometimes come out for a stroll too. It's very cute!"

A visitor, overhearing their conversation, eagerly asked the keeper, "Do our penguins have a parade performance?"

The keeper explained, "Yes, that's planned! But it's still quite hot now, and the high temperatures on the outdoor paths could burn their feet, so it's not suitable for them to walk outside.

You can see that we've placed ice blocks and misting devices in the exhibit to cool the stones.

There's also a slide designed for the penguins to slide into the water, but we haven't set it up because of the heat.

Maybe when the weather cools down in autumn, you'll see them taking a stroll."

Yumiko was impressed, "Wow, that's really thoughtful!"

Liu Wei laughed, "Indeed! I used to think a keeper's job was just to clean up and feed the animals. After visiting the zoo a few times, I realized there's a lot more to it. It's not something you can do casually."

A penguin approached the edge of a wide stone, placing its feet at the edge and leaning forward slightly to adjust its posture.

Then it spread its wings, lowered its head, and naturally fell into the water, creating a splash.

While they might appear clumsy on land, they became agile and graceful swimmers in the water!

Their feet were placed together behind them like a fish's tail, and their thin wings spread out, allowing them to glide several meters forward.

With their streamlined bodies and smooth skin, they swam with almost no resistance, looking like little airplanes in the water.

They gently flapped their wings, swimming leisurely.

Sometimes they crossed paths with each other, sometimes they surfaced, and some even swam sideways, showing their white bellies to the visitors.

Someone curiously asked, "By the way, are penguins birds?"

The visitors started discussing, "They should be, right?"

Yumiko thought for a moment and said, "They should be birds, but they swim like fish."

Liu Wei said, "Fish is too far-fetched; they should be considered beasts!"

The keeper waited for the visitors to finish their discussion and then smiled, "Penguins have bird beaks, bird wings, feathers, and they reproduce by laying eggs, so they are definitely birds!"

The visitors were surprised, "Really?"

"Do they have feathers? Their bodies look like they have skin."

The keeper explained, "Although penguins' bodies look smooth, they actually have feathers! The feathers grow very close to the body to facilitate swimming.

I have a penguin feather with me, which I picked up while cleaning. You can take a look."

Holding up the feather, the visitors looked up and saw a small, fluffy white feather.

"Look around the edge of the pool, and you might find some! Also, when they come ashore, pay attention to them grooming their feathers.

Penguins' unique walking style, with their legs positioned like a human squatting in a martial arts stance, gives the impression that their legs are short and wrapped in fat. They can't fly, so they don't look much like birds, which can be misleading."

At that moment, a keeper wearing rain boots came out from the back, carrying a metal bucket.

"Time to eat!"

They took some fish from the bucket and threw them into the water.

The penguins immediately became excited!

Those in the water, who had been swimming leisurely, suddenly sped up!

They anticipated where the fish would land, and as soon as the fish touched the water, a penguin's head would pop up and gulp it down.

The penguins on land, eager to join in, jumped into the water one after another, creating splashes.

The water surface became turbulent, with splashes hitting the stones where the penguins had stood, resembling waves crashing against cliffs.

Some penguins even fought over the fish, pecking at each other and rolling around in the water, only to separate moments later.

The visitors exclaimed in amazement.

"Wow, they swim so fast!"

"Look, those two are fighting!"

African penguins are lively and active, and fighting is common.

Especially during feeding time, fights are inevitable.

The keeper outside the glass wall observed carefully, taking notes in a notebook.

After a while, the penguins finished their fish and resumed swimming leisurely or returned to the shore to sing love songs or rest by the ice blocks.

The keeper put away the notebook and explained, "I was counting how many fish they ate, so I couldn't talk to you. If I did, I'd lose focus."

"Wow, with so many penguins, how do you tell them apart? Can you really count them all?"

"The colored rings at the base of their wings are called wing bands! These are their ID cards. Typically, males wear them on the right side, and females on the left, with different color combinations to identify them. Recording their diet is part of our job.

The penguins' diet mainly consists of fresh small yellow croaker. We select the fish carefully, only feeding them those with a golden color and good elasticity. Darker fish with less elasticity, indicating nutritional loss, are not fed.

We also remove the gills and intestines, making sure not to break the fish's body. The fish must remain whole, or it could harm the penguins' esophagus when they eat it."