All that’s missing is the voice of Morgan Freeman dramatically announcing their arrival.
No matter. No one crowded into the Georgia Aquarium's soaring, colorful atrium on a typical morning is likely to miss the trio of African Penguins as they strut their waddling stuff down a curved ramp in the middle of the big room.
The "Penguin Waddle Walk" is brand new at the aquarium, which last month opened new sea lion and dolphin attractions as part of its 10th anniversary celebration. It's taken a little bit longer to acclimate members of the resident "colony" of African Penguins to the bright lights, big noise environment of a place some 22 million people visited in its first decade.
But now that they have …
“Sometimes it’s a challenge to choose just three of them to go out there,” chuckled Erin Morling, a senior penguin trainer. “There are a lot of birds who find it enriching to walk around and see all different kinds of people. They line up when it’s time to leave (the penguin habitat area).”
The Waddle Walk begins right around 10:40 a.m. daily, preceded by a quick informational session about African Penguins that’s conducted by a (human) employee and the Aquarium’s new “spokespenguin,” George Waddlesworth. Different penguins will waddle on different days, but three is the typical number that will be involved.
The walk itself lasts less than ten minutes — indeed, it can be a bit like herding, er, flippered cats for the trainers who accompany the 18-to-25 inch tall penguins as they enthusiastically pitter-patter down and all around the enclosed runway. On Thursday morning, the trainers periodically paused to pick up the penguins and bring them close to the hundreds of people of all ages who oohed and aahed and aimed their camera phones at the black-and-white birds.
“What’s a penguin waddle?” Ed McCreary, the aquarium employee, had posed the question to the expectant crowd beforehand. “Easy. It’s the cutest two words put together in the English language.”
Agreed.
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