PENGUINS AT AIRPORT

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28434, 14 November 1957, Page 18

PENGUINS AT AIRPORT

Large Crowd For

Arrival

Descending down the ramp of the Globemaster aircraft that brought it from McMurdo Sound, an Emperor penguin, dressed in a United States sailor's dress blue uniform, attracted the attention of a large crowd that gathered at Christchurch Airport yesterday morning. One of the penguin’s guards. M. P. Jones, a navy photographer, held the bird in his thickly-gloved hands while shots were taken with movie and still cameras. “Flipper R. Penguin” as the men at McMurdo Sound had named the bird carried three inverted stripes, wings and parachute markings on his left sleeve to indicate his rank of petty officer parachute rigger. The uniform was designed by photographer first class K. C. Mayer and made by parachute rigger first class G. R. Gowen. On the flight from McMurdo Sound the penguins, 36 Emperors and 30 Adelie. were kept in cages. On arrival at Christchurch they were transferred to separate cages on the Globemaster for the United (States. Left for U.S. The flight left for the United States at 12.30 p.m. yesterday and jis expected to reach Portland in about 48 hours. The aircraft will stop at Fiji and Hawaii, and will then fly direct to Portland. The director of the Portland Zoo, Mr Jack Marks, who is accompanying the penguins back to the United States said they were excellent on the flight from McMurdo. About 100 children from the Airport School were escorted to see the penguins by the headmaster (Mr E. S. Burke). They were greatly excited watching the penguins being unloaded but were kept at a safe distance as the birds were ready to bite anyone who came too close. Only two magpies from New Zealand left on the flight yesterday. With the rush of loading the penguins the eight magpies offered could not be collected.