Now, I usually like to a run at least one penguin-related post a week. So I was pleased that after my post last Monday about Sea World San Diego’s live 24-hour penguin cam (Did you check it out? I was watching it this morning and humans suddenly came into view!), Jane Ballentine of the Maryland Zoo informed me of their own “Zoo TV” — no relation to the 1992 U2 world tour — replete with their own 24-hour penguin cam.
So maybe you’ve seen Sea World San Diego’s waddlers shiver in frigid temperatures, but how about some African black-footed penguins kicking it in a temperate clime with the occasional sea gull? Now that’s a penguin I could relate to. As opposed to the Sea World cam, the angle of the Maryland Zoo’s camera gives a little bit of a security-footage vibe — I half-expect one of the penguins to suddenly rob a liquor store — but on the whole these birds seem a lot more relaxed.
Remember that you heard it here first: 2012 is the year of the penguin. I know you think it’s all vampires and zombies, but trust me. We’re on the precipice of a grass-roots, internet zoo 24-hour webcam revolution. By 2013 we’ll see Pandora-style penguin playlist generators; you input your favorite penguin and the web application uses a sophisticated algorithm to match you with penguins you may never have heard of but are likely to enjoy.
