#newzealand

#newzealand

Penguin of the Year 2022The National Aquarium of New Zealand is staging their annual Penguin of the Year competition! Fourteen penguins are in the running, most of them familiar to fans who follow them at Facebook. Last year's winner was Mo, who is known as the naughtiest penguin at the aquarium. In fact, the Penguin of the Year grew out of a running "naughty penguin of the month" sign that went viral a few years ago. Everyone loves to hear about the behavior of the penguins, whether good or bad, because it highlights how the sea birds each have their own individual personalities. You can check out a description of each penguin, and vote for your favorite bird at the contest page, which has a wonderful graphic that announces incoming votes in real time from all over the world. Votes will be taken through Monday (September 12) at 10PM New Zealand time. The winner will be announced on Wednesday the 14th. -via Metafilter(Image credit: National Aquarium of New Zealand) #penguin #NewZealand #penguinoftheyear

Bull Survived Being Swept Along a Flooded River for 50 Miles and Going over a WaterfallThis bull definitely showed its bullheadedness to survive.Earlier last month in New Zealand, the South Island area was hit by the worst flash flood in 80 years. Tony Peacock’s farm was no exception. The massive dump of water caught him by surprise and he had no time to relocate his stock to a higher ground. And just like that, Peacock realized that his bulls were gone.He never thought he’d see them again until one week later, he got a call notifying him that one of his bulls had been found on the riverbank at Westport, some 80 kilometers away. The bull had apparently somehow survived a 10-meter drop at the Maruia Falls. When he was found, his ear tag helped identify him.Now the bull is back home with Peacock, who said he is retiring him and giving him a name.Image: Tony Peacock#bull #flood #NewZealand #waterfall

Parrot Steals Family's GoPro at a National Park and Film its Getaway FlightThere was an opportunity, and this mischievous parrot took it!A family was hiking on the Kepler Track in New Zealand when a group of parrots native to the region joined them. The kea is known for its curious and mischievous nature. In addition, it is notorious for swiping wallets, jewelry, packed lunches, windscreen wipers, and other valuables. So it was not surprising that one of them snatched the family’s GoPro, which was there to film the birds. The footage from the GoPro showed the escape of the sneaky avian, as well as its landing and a frenzied attack on the camera. According to Alex Verheul, they followed the sound of the birds to obtain the GoPro. The parrot abandoned the camera after hearing the family approach their location. “My son decided to go check the rocks where it looked like a good place for a bird to land, and there it was still sitting there, still filming,” Verhuel said. #nature #birds #NewZealand #GoPro #KeplerPark #Kea