The kororā (little blue penguin) I saw in New Zealand at the most fantastic rehabilitation center at Christchurch airport.
All of the inhabitants are unable to survive in the wild and are being very well cared for. It was amazing.
this post was submitted on 20 Jun 2026
761 points (99.6% liked)
Science Memes
20533 readers
2035 users here now
Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!
A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.
Rules
- Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
- Keep it rooted (on topic).
- No spam.
- Infographics welcome, get schooled.
This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.
Research Committee
Other Mander Communities
Science and Research
Biology and Life Sciences
- !abiogenesis@mander.xyz
- !animal-behavior@mander.xyz
- !anthropology@mander.xyz
- !arachnology@mander.xyz
- !balconygardening@slrpnk.net
- !biodiversity@mander.xyz
- !biology@mander.xyz
- !biophysics@mander.xyz
- !botany@mander.xyz
- !ecology@mander.xyz
- !entomology@mander.xyz
- !fermentation@mander.xyz
- !herpetology@mander.xyz
- !houseplants@mander.xyz
- !medicine@mander.xyz
- !microscopy@mander.xyz
- !mycology@mander.xyz
- !nudibranchs@mander.xyz
- !nutrition@mander.xyz
- !palaeoecology@mander.xyz
- !palaeontology@mander.xyz
- !photosynthesis@mander.xyz
- !plantid@mander.xyz
- !plants@mander.xyz
- !reptiles and amphibians@mander.xyz
Physical Sciences
- !astronomy@mander.xyz
- !chemistry@mander.xyz
- !earthscience@mander.xyz
- !geography@mander.xyz
- !geospatial@mander.xyz
- !nuclear@mander.xyz
- !physics@mander.xyz
- !quantum-computing@mander.xyz
- !spectroscopy@mander.xyz
Humanities and Social Sciences
Practical and Applied Sciences
- !exercise-and sports-science@mander.xyz
- !gardening@mander.xyz
- !self sufficiency@mander.xyz
- !soilscience@slrpnk.net
- !terrariums@mander.xyz
- !timelapse@mander.xyz
Memes
Miscellaneous
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
Their round shape and their lil flappers and their pose is just perfect so adorable
They're predators, but they're the "I'm adapted to hunt in one environment but I hang out in another" kind of predator, so they're these amazing fish seeking torpedoes in the water, but they're these delightfully ridiculous footballs in dinner jackets waddling around on land. And they're licensed under the GPL which is always cool.
Penguins are so smol?? I thought they were tall like at least maybe 3' or so. But they're less than our own knee height??
Depends on the species of penguin. There are some big ones as well as little guys! Also that penguin might be on the younger side, given that it seems pretty curious about the world.
I'm not a marine biologist though, so treat this with a grain of salt
as the other comment said, depends on the species
like look at this fella
i like this video about them
In the nature it's strict forbidden to touch pinguins, becaise it destroys the plumage impregnation and insulation, which has deadly consequences for the pinguin in the Water and with an harsh climate. Because of this you never will see scientifics doing it. Different in Zoos.
This picture looks like it isn't in a harsh climate. We generally think of penguins living in the polar ice caps, but there are several species that live in warmer climates. Based on the sandy beach here, I'm guessing this is one of those.
I'll never forget visiting a zoo in North Dakota in the summertime and it was so uncomfortably hot even for humans to be walking around and they had penguins on display at the zoo and the indoor area was closed so they had to be outside on display and they were all huddled together in a corner in the shade trying to escape the oppressive heat and it was breaking my heart. There was a pool there outside for them to swim in, but the pool was in the sun and it was just so friggin' hot outside. Poor little guys.
Wow, that's messed up. I don't know if there's an authority they could be reported to, but that sounds abusive.
Also known as Little Penguins in a rare case of extremely apt naming 😁
Birch Aquarium in San Diego has a little blue penguin live cam of these guys! They are really cute.
They have a bunch of these lil fellas at the Cincinnati Zoo, and they are doubly cute in person. Just saying.
Emperor penguins are big, like 4' iirc, but are the largest species. Most penguins are more like the size of an ordinary bird like a duck or a goose or whatever
They go from being the size and weight of a liter of yoghurt (the aptly named Little penguin) to as tall as a zebra and as heavy as a Rottweiler dog (Emperor penguins)
Emperor penguins get up to 3' but those are the largest species, the others range in sizes but most aren't that big
Viking_Hippie said penguins can be as tall as a zebra and weigh as much as a rottweiler. What is the truth?
No, those are the rare penguinosas, which is a misnomer as they are more closely related to the giant puffin
If seeing this doesn’t delight you, you’re a monster. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. You’re a monster.
Oh no....
This could be a "those that don't know: :) vs those that know: :|" situation.
Penguins almost only leave their flock and go inland to die, as far as I'm aware it's not exactly known why.
Probably just a random instinct that was reinforced by survival of the fittest (at group population levels) because it meant that group didn't contaminate their nests or water with the dead, which would also attract scavengers that might also try to prey on living penguins when there weren't any already dead handy.
Or maybe they go to get frozen so that when a future penguin solves the problem of death, they can go and unfreeze the frozen penguins and use that massive undead penguin army to conquer more southern islands.
Because they know it's coming, and now's the best time to find out what's out there.
Hello, I would like one fish combo please, hold the seal.
Penguins just haven't been around humans enough to avoid them, like most mainland animals learned the hard way.
Apex predator?
Adelie don't care.
What, humans? No, we are omnivores, occasional predators.
But there's no such thing as land predators.
That penguin is saying "Hey hoomans! Get off my lawn!"
😍