Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Round Em Up Penguin Friends


Penguins act as sheepdogs of the sea
Penguins work in teams to herd fish in the same way that sheepdogs chivvy sheep into a pen, scientists have found. Tracking devices attached to Magellanic penguins have revealed that they will swim in ever decreasing circles to herd schools of fish into balls. As the penguins tighten their circles the fish crowd together until they get so squashed up that the ball loses it shape and breaks up. The penguins then target those fish that stray and snatch a meal. Sensors also revealed that the penguins are among the Earth’s greediest creatures, stuffing themselves so full that a grown man would have to consume almost 600 quarter-pounder burgers in eight hours to match them.

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