The last of Nanjing’s tourist attractions opened their doors once again this week after our city’s COVID outbreak, but before they did, an opportunity was seized to do something different. After all, the scenic spots were only off limits to human visitors…
Today was the day for Nanjing’s Bao’an Temple to reopen for people to visit the attraction also known as the Porcelain Pagoda. But prior to that, another kind of two-legged visitor was granted a kind of exclusive, all-access VIP pass. Two Humboldt penguins to be exact, named Kang Kang and Ning Ning.
But this was also more than a mere publicity stunt. Normally the most timid of penguin species, Nanjing Underwater World feeders explained that with the attraction being closed, the penguins developed signs of anxiety at the lack of human visitors, reports JSChina.
Hence the solution to bring them outdoors. According to the penguins’ breeders, this unexpected move was deeply loved by them, possibly because their outing also took in Mingxiaoling and Nanjing’s City Wall.
Not only did it alleviate Kang Kang and Ning Ning’s anxieties, it also provided for some of the most social-media friendly photos of 2021 to date.
And for quite a few questions from the general public, most common among which were, “Don’t penguins live in Antarctica?”, and, “How can they stand the heat in Nanjing?”.
Actually, conditions in Nanjing on the morning in question were perfect for them.
Humboldt penguins have most of coastal Peru as their natural habitat, living all-year round in an environment of 16-25 degrees Celsius. Therefore, the temperature in Nanjing on an autumn morning is just right for them to have a walk around.
As for their conservation status, the International Union for Conservation of Nature categorises Humboldt penguins as a species as vulnerable. As such, they face possible extinction in the near future unless their threatening circumstances as to survival and reproduction improve.
