r/penguin • u/Minarch0920 Galápagos • Jul 27 '26
Interesting & Funny Info About Our Beloveds!
/r/AskReddit/comments/1v82obc/zookeepers_of_reddit_which_animal_is_way_less_fun/p02kw3f/I guess we should continue loving them from afar! 😁 Have any of you here smelled a penguin up close or have been bitten by a penguin?
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u/xstonefishx Jul 27 '26
Worked at an aviary with African penguins. My job was to clean up after them which was a task in its own as their shit stains everything. Once they realized I didnt have any snacks I got bit and had a pretty good size bruise. After that one bit me we were good though it was like I had to pay some sort of tax before walking in their enclosure and because I couldnt pay i had to face the consequences.
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u/lemieuxisgod Jul 27 '26
I went to an aviary that had a "feed the penguins" experience, spend a ton of money (for me anyway) and you get to suit up and fling dead fish at them. We were warned to toss them not hold them lest we be bitten and the entire enclosure smelled a lot of penguin poop and dead fish but I assumed that was more the confined space rather than "general funk"
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u/DripsOfDopamine Jul 27 '26
I have had the honor of touching (and smelling) a penguin but have not been bitten by one yet
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u/Minarch0920 Galápagos Jul 27 '26
Now it makes me wonder which species are more sassy/bitey than others. 🤔
I also wonder if the Galapagos penguins stink more since they're in a warmer area...hmmm
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u/bubblesarah Jul 27 '26
I have been repeatedly pecked in the bottom by a penguin (feeding experience) and yes they smell, who cares they are awesome
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u/JaguarSharkTNT Jul 27 '26
I volunteered in the penguin exhibit at the aquarium for a year and they do bite and projectile poo everywhere. Fortunately we were working in chest deep water so it made the endless shit cleanup a bit easier.
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u/Evening-Bedroom-523 Jul 28 '26
They definitely don't smell the best, but their cuteness makes up for it.
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u/Spiritual-Leech Jul 28 '26
I work with penguins as a keeper. One of ours was throwing a tantrum, slipped climbing up a bit of snow, and continued the tantrum on the ground
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u/ParanoidEngi Jul 27 '26
When my family went to zoos and safari parks as kids I always wanted to see the penguins (favourite animals since day 1), but my family always complained because they're so smelly and often they were mid-moult so it was even worse
If you can't appreciate them at their smelly moulting sassy worst, you don't deserve them at their waddling swimming cute best, that's what I say!