By Annabella Fraser
The Humboldt Penguins were introduced to the St Andrews Aquarium at the end of the last academic year and I personally would like to inform you all that they are utterly adorable!
As a surprise for our two-year anniversary (I know right…two years!) my boyfriend organised for us to go and feed these adorable little critters safe in the knowledge that I love penguins. I seriously do, I avidly watched every episode of Spy in the Huddle and went to see March of the Penguins in the cinema aged twelve and loved it! Anyway, we arrived at the penguin enclosure, a rather lovely space with a big pool for swimming in, nest boxes with names on (though apparently the penguins rarely acknowledge which is theirs) and a mini pier. There we found the most adorable penguins ever (in my opinion, possibly because they are the only ones I have had one to one contact with, but still) and they were all excited to be fed! After being prepped by our lovely font of information, Cara, we entered the enclosure. Well I never thought I would say that a penguin wanted my jacket but one literally did! Kim, one of the apparently less friendly penguins, could not keep her beak off of it! It is bright yellow and rather fetching if I say so myself but boy it was surreal to have fashion envy from a penguin, she even ignored her food for the jacket…insane!
Anyway we fed the penguins sprat, a small kind of fish (do not worry we had rubber gloves on so it was not too gross) and they gobbled it up! Although there was the occasional fussy moment where a fish would be discarded because it was not quite right (actually this happened a lot) but still most of the fish went down in one! After a healthy amount of fish, my entire bucket was empty, and a lot of teasing from the penguins about whether or not they would finish my boyfriend’s bucket too (it ended up being a no), we were finally able to touch the penguins and give them a little cuddle…well I did…I am not sure it was allowed…but who can resist those adorable little faces!
Eventually it was time to leave and for Kim’s beak to be pried off my jacket, it does not suffice to say I was sad to leave but I promised I would visit them again, though they did not seem too bothered. It really was such a great day and I then went home to have a lovely dinner cooked for me, fish incidentally just like my little penguin friends! I literally loved every second and the best part is I could do it again, any day of the week whenever I want, as can anyone! So do it! You know you want to!