What’s not to love about penguins? and moult at about a year old, at which point they grow their adult feathers: …to a pile of feathers, representing the molt of a juvenile penguin becoming an adult. I’ve blogged before about the curious “march of the penguins” that takes place each afternoon, where keepers roam the exhibit carrying fish in order to ensure the penguins exercise (in a game of “follow the fish”) and to observe their general health. This emphasis on education, as well as exhibition, and clear concern for the animals’ welfare carried through the entire Kyoto Aquarium. The animals seemed happy,
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The Giant Salamanders of Japan
On my first morning in Japan, I woke up at 4:30am to catch a Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo to Kyoto. Upon arrival, I went with my son and one of his friends to the Kyoto Aquarium, where I immediately discovered a major difference between a Japanese aquarium and the ones I’ve visited in the United States. The marquee creature. Aquariums usually place a large-draw creature close to the entrance, because the visitors want to see the animal as soon as they enter. Other “big-ticket” creatures may be located far from the entrance (ensuring that guests stay long enough to make the full circuit) but there’s
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