|
|
|
|
National Tree Day Planet Ark Home
|
|
|
||
|
Berlin's penguins chill out in new ice enclosure |
||
|
Mail this story to a friend | Printer friendly version
|
||
| GERMANY: July 1, 2002 | ||
|
BERLIN - The Berlin zoo opened a luxurious high-tech home for its 42 penguins last week, giving them ice-cold pools, artificial rocks and even snow storms in which to chill out during summer heat waves.
|
||
|
"They're visibly satisfied with it," said Heiner Kloes, one of the zoo's directors. "They went straight to the snow machine, walked into the snow storm and let themselves get covered." The penguins had reason to celebrate because a recent hot spell sent temperatures in Berlin soaring to around 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit). But Kloes said it would take them a while to get used to the high-tech comforts of their new home. "Penguins are really quite conservative," he added. "They don't like changes. It'll take them a few days to acclimatise." The complex, built at a cost of around 20 million euros ($19.9 million), or half a million euros per penguin, is one of Europe's largest. It also houses seals and sea lions.
|
||
|
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
|
||
|
