As these bloopers from BBC’s Penguins: Spy in the Huddle show, penguins seem every bit as thrown off by it as humans would be. Not only do they slip, trip and fall, but they just look so frustrated by the whole ordeal:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Via StuffStolenFromTheInternet

It’s my goal to get it to match her enthusiasm for wigs and celebrity gossip!

In my latest appearance, I pulled out all the stops and brought some of the cutest, cuddliest baby animals around. In the face of such adorableness, even Wendy’s natural trepidation around wild animals melted away.

And even better, she helped me promote National Wildlife Federation’s Wild Animal Baby Adoption program!

Don’t forgot to adopt a wild animal baby and help support NWF’s work to protect wildlife.

Extra-Large Wildlife

Blue whales reach lengths of 110 feet (with females being bigger than males), making them the largest animals to ever live! They are also one of the loudest animals on Earth, songs can reach nearly 200 dB (louder than a jet engine!) and travel for hundreds of miles across the ocean.

For another animal with impressive length, here is a video of a 49 foot long python, being held in captivity in Indonesia. Over the centuries there have been many tales of giant snakes. This 983 pounder tells us the tales were mostly true. In recent years, pythons have become an extra-large threat to the Florida Everglades ecosystem, where pet owners have released the non-native species into the wild.

Similar tales of exotic wild creatures at sea may have been spawned by such as this 2,000 pound, nine foot long loggerhead turtle that, sadly, only came to view because it snagged in buoy cable. NWF and colleague organizations took many needed steps during the 2010 BP Gulf oil disaster to protect loggerheads and other turtle species.

We all know that giraffes are our tallest land animal and that some have reached heights in excess of 20 feet, but the world’s tallest subspecies of giraffe, the Rothschild, is now in danger of extinction.

Scientists exploring Madagascar reported the discovery of what is thought to be the world's smallest chameleon, Brookesia micra, a leaf chameleon. Photo by Glaw, F., et al., PLoS ONE

Extra-Small Wildlife

By contrast, the smallest of reptile was recently discovered in Madagascar: Brookesia micra. It is a tiny leaf chameleon that measures an inch when fully grown.  Recent efforts to inventory wild species in tropical forests are finding hundreds of previously undocumented species, including this little guy who lives in leaf litter and only comes out at night.

Speedy Birds

There are many record-breaking speedsters in the animal kingdom. The Peregrine falcon gets the nod for being able to dive at speeds close to 150 mph, but Siberia’s spine-tailed swift wins the overall prize for flying across the sky at 106 mph.

And while cheetahs are the fastest land animal, able to run at 70 mph, the ostrich is the fastest land bird, having been clocked at about 45 mph.

My favorite speedster may be the Gentoo penguin which can swim at about 25 mph through Antarctic seas. These penguins need their speed and smart maneuvering to keep from becoming food the large predators such as orcas. This two minute video, called Happy Gentoo, shows how this all works for a worn out but clever penguin being chased by a pod of orcas. It has a surprise ending you may like. By breaking a record, the little guy avoids becoming a statistic.

Big Leapers

The highest land-based leaper seems to be the cougar, which can jump straight up over 20 feet. The highest ocean leaper seems be a toss-up between orcas and sharks which can get themselves some 20 feet above the waves.

Southern cricket frogs are one of the best jumpers in the amphibian world, reaching heights of over 60 times their body length (that’s like a person jumping up a 38 story building!).

Eastern Hercules Beetle

Longest Commutes

The arctic tern seems to win in the “longest commute” category with its annual 21,000 mile round trip from pole to pole and the North American caribou does a 5,000 mile round trip on land.

Hercules! Hercules!

Last but not least, rhinoceros beetles–sometimes called Hercules beetles because they possess strength of a herculean proportions–can lift objects 850 times their weight. That would be equivalent to a human lifting 9 fully grown male elephants!

Protect Record-Breaking Wildlife

You can help wildlife – adopt your own record-breaking animal today! >>

1. The remarkable life of Yellowstone wolf 495M: A friend of mine sponsored a radio collar in my name for 495M. When I lived in Yellowstone, I followed his adventures as the alpha male of Mollie’s Pack. He died this year, but had a remarkable life and got to live and die like a true wolf. Read the full story here >>

495M while tranquilized for research (Photo: Yellowstone Wolf Project)

Late bison calf "Zisa" in Yellowstone (photo by Beth Pratt)

The pika who ran over my foot poses for a photo. (Photo by Beth Pratt)

Two bald eagles in one day in the Sierra (photo by Beth Pratt)

The joy of dancing penquins (photo by Beth Pratt)

Desert bighorn sheep in Anza-Borrego State Park (photo by Beth Pratt)

Black bear in Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite (photo by Beth Pratt)

The life of a frog in my backyard pond (Photos by Beth Pratt)

Click here to view the embedded video.

10. Ranger Rick at the Ahwahnee Hotel: During the first meeting of NWF’s California Advisory Council, we had a special visitor—Ranger Rick came to Yosemite! Also in the photo, council member Jack Laws, the talented naturalist and author of The Laws Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada.

Ranger Rick in Yosemite! With myself and Jack Laws.

The joy of dancing penquins (photo by Beth Pratt)

This past Sunday, I attended the premiere of Happy Feet Two in Los Angeles. The National Wildlife Federation teamed up with the movie to encourage people of all ages to take the steps necessary to protect amazing wildlife species such as penguins and wild places such as Antarctica.

I helped staff a booth for our organization at the premiere festivities in front of the Mann’s Chinese Theater, and had a delightful time helping children create finger puppet penguins while watching some of the stars who provided voices for the film—Hank Azaria, Robin Williams, Pink, and Sofia Vegara—parade down the red carpet.

The movie had a wonderful message of working together for the good of all in a changing world, as well as the coolest song and dance finale I have ever seen with penguins and elephant seals doing a rendition of David Bowie’s “Under Pressure.” Not having kids, I think the last cartoon movie I saw was Beauty and the Beast, and the last 3D movie I attended was U23D, but I had splendid time. Brad Pitt and Matt Damon as Will and Bill- the Krill brought some fun adult humor to the film as well, with their witty banter reminiscent of the Oceans films.

Near the end of the movie, when penguins of all nations united with elephant seals and tiny krill to save a group of penguins trapped by melting ice and calving glaciers, I teared up a bit, but not from sadness–it’s not a sad movie in the least and despite my fears of a few scenes turning into Planet Earth unpleasant predator-prey moments, nary a critter meets their demise. Instead, the tears came from sheer joy over impossibly cute penguins and the hopeful message of togetherness. I tried to secretly wipe my tears away without notice so as not to embarrass myself in front of my coworker, but we had a laugh together as she admitted to getting a bit watery-eyed as well.

One of the penquin finger puppets made by children at the NWF booth at the Happy Feet Two Premiere (Photo by Beth Pratt)

Last week the environmental movement scored a victory with Obama’s decision to delay the controversial Keystone pipeline and call for further environmental review. As NWF’s President and CEO Larry Schweiger observed, blocking this project was the result of a diverse group of Americans—from environmentalists in California to football players in Nebraska–gathering together for a common cause.  “Over the last several months, a groundswell of opposition sunk this project. Not since the first Earth Day have I seen so much energy directed toward conserving the environment for our children. This is a great moment for the thousands of Americans who have stood up to this project, from town halls to the White House.”

Climate change is transforming our world, but by working together, whether we are tap dancing penguins and singing elephant seals, or left coast environmentalists and Cornhusker football players, we can unite to protect people, wildlife and the special places on this earth.

Happy Feet Two opens this Friday, November 18. Children will love the film, but adults, I dare you not to be charmed and inspired by those animated 3D penguins fighting the impacts of climate change and oil spills as they happily dance and sing to Queen and David Bowie songs.

Get more fun facts and activities about penguins and download free Family Fun and Educator Guides for the movie! 

A Rockhopper Penguin on Gough Island in the South Atlantic (photo: Chantal Steyn)

Known primarily for its vibrant wildlife populations, Tristan de Cunha is one of the most isolated places in the world—located 1,750 miles from South Africa and over 2,000 miles from South America.  With no airport and only a few hundred citizens, international conservation groups are scrambling to mount a relief effort for the penguins, but progress has been exasperatingly slow.

Only one rescue vessel with limited equipment has been deployed so far.  Jay Holcomb of the International Bird Rescue Research Center says that some 20,000 penguins have been affected and “many of the birds have been oiled for over a week, which limits their chances of survival.”  There is no fresh water on the most-affected island, meaning that the birds must be transported to the main island for cleaning.

Trevor Glass, a local conservation officer, painted a stark picture: “The scene at Nightingale is dreadful, as there is an oil slick encircling the island.”

Experts also warn that rats likely escaped the ship and could gain a foothold, a development that “would be devastating” according to Richard Cuthbert of Britain’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

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To learn more or make a donation to the International Bird Rescue Research Center, visit IBRRC’s website.

UPDATE: National Geographic has just posted a photo slideshow on its website.

Fastest

Let’s start with the animal that runs faster than any other.  Many people already know that the cheetah, which lives in Africa and Asia, can run like the wind.  These cats can go from a standstill to 60 miles per hour (mph) in just three seconds.  Their top speed is about 75 mph which makes them more than twice as fast as a lion (35 mph).  A cheetah’s body is completely designed for speed as you can easily see from this video.   But, in an odd twist of nature, cheetahs, unlike most cats, are terrible climbers.

The bird that flies the fastest is the spine-tailed swift of Siberia at over 100 mph.  But the bird that runs fastest is the ostrich which can hit 45 mph as you can tell from this video.   Ostriches are the largest of all birds and are totally flightless.  They often weigh over 300 pounds and must rely on their legs for safety and getting around.   When threatened, those legs can deliver a powerful, even deadly, kick to a predator.

Leggiest

Giraffes win the prize for being the “leggiest” of all creatures. Their legs can grow to well over six feet long.   They need good legs because adult males can grow to be close to 20 feet tall and weigh over 4,000 pounds.  The giraffe is a cousin of deer and cattle but looks quite different.  It closest relative is the okapi.

The African elephant has the largest legs (measured in bulk) of all land creatures.  They have to because they can grow to 15,000 pounds. The animal with the most legs goes is the millipede (750 legs) and the creature with the smallest legs, as far as anyone can figure, is the fairyfly.

Biggest Bones

If one were to ask what animal has the largest leg bones or what is the largest animal with leg bones the answer would be the same and it might, for many people, be a surprise.  It is the blue whale! Whales once lived on land but they liked swimming so much they returned to the sea.  Their front legs evolved into flippers but their back legs “un-evolved” and grew smaller and retreated into their bodies to make them more streamlined.  But, for a 100 foot long blue whale, even these residual hind leg bones are huge.

Slowest Walker

The tortoise is considered by most experts to be the slowest walking animal.  A good-to-go giant tortoise will hit a cruising speed of about 1/6 mph.  It is probably a good thing that they often live to be more than 100 years old.

Those same experts would tell you that the slowest moving mammal is probably the three-toed sloth which has difficulty walking  but moves just as slowly as a tortoise only through the branches of a tree.  If you are looking for the slowest creature using a pseudopod (false foot) it is probably the garden snail which chugs along at about 1/30 mph putting the “go” in escargot.

Largest Crawler

One might say the giant tortoise moves at a crawl, but it is pretty likely that the coconut crab is the largest of the slow crawling arthropods.   Coconut crabs, really oversized hermit crabs, can grow to nine pounds and measure three feet across.  They live on indo-pacific islands and do most of their crawling at night.

The hands-down largest crawler in the world, however, is the saltwater crocodile of Australia which can grow to 20 feet and over 2,500 pounds.   These crocs can also hit some amazing speeds from the “crawl” position.  The largest insect crawler is the goliath beetle which weighs about ¼ of a pound.

The Largest Crawl

Each year, the red crabs of Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, leave their forest homes and engage in a massive migration to the Island’s shoreline in order to mate and propagate.  This video can give you a sense of what it is like when 120 million crabs march to the sea all at once.

The Loneliest Walker

Most wildlife scientists would vote for the wolverine as the greatest and widest-ranging walking soloist of all time.  Wolverines walk hundreds of miles and are seldom, if ever, seen.   Those same scientists might offer an explanation that wolverines are just too bad-tempered to spend time with others.  That is probably a little harsh but this video shows how a wolverine chases down a spry hare.

Longest Commute

Among land animals, the caribou is the long-distance champion.  Caribou herds in North America can travel over 3,000 miles round trip each year, without the benefit of “frequent walker” miles.

Weirdest Walkers

There are a number of fish that like to walk on land or in the water.  The mud skipper is probably the best adapted fish for this dual role.  It can stay out of the water for days and moves easily on its foot-like flippers.

The walking catfish by contrast, can leave the water but it is wriggling more than walking as you can see from this video.

One of the most charming of the walking fish is the Mexican walking fish as you can see from the photo on the right or the newly discovered pink hand fish.  And, there is this video of a newly discovered bottom-walking fish that took the experts by surprise.

Humans who have trouble getting around will often use a cane or walking stick, but in the animal world there is an insect known as a walking stick that this video looks at up close and personally.

Coolest Looking Walkers

At the National Wildlife Federation, we are committed to addressing the threat of global climate change and to making all the world’s walking animals a little safer and little better off.  So let’s wrap up with a video of crew of emperor penguins walking off into the distance – happily ever after.

For a great poster on wildlife that walk or to learn more, visit:  National Wildlife Week

Just Getting Around

On land, frogs and toads are constantly jumping.  Frogs are generally recognized as the best jumpers of all vertebrates. The Australian rocket frog, for example, can leap over 50 times its body length (two inches) resulting in jumps of close to seven feet.

Kangaroos are marsupial mammals and are the only large animals to use hopping as a principal means of locomotion. The comfortable hopping speed for red kangaroos, for example, is about 15 mph, but they can reach speeds of 40 mph over short distances.  Moreover, some kangaroos can leap more than 10 feet in the air when they have to.

Kangaroo rats are small rodents native to North America.  Their name comes from their bipedal mode of movement as they hop around in a manner that reminds one of kangaroos.

Lemurs are a form of primate unique to Madagascar.  In addition to their incredible looks, some species have an equally incredible way of jumping instead of running (this video shows how unusual and fascinating lemur leaping can be).

Other creatures known for hopping and jumping as they move about include rabbits and grasshoppers.

Gazelles are a species of antelope that mostly walk until they get excited (or threatened).  The tiny Thompson’s gazelle exhibits the very distinctive behavior of “stotting” (running slowly and jumping very high before fleeing).  Like kangaroos, gazelles can leap more than 10 feet into the air.

Jumping on Attack

A species of snake common to Mexico and Central America is known as the jumping viper.  This name comes from its ability to launch itself up to two feet at an attacker during a strike.  In essence, they strike at their assailants with such force that they leave the ground

Jumping spiders are also a species that leaps to attack.  There are 5,000 species of jumping spider in the world which makes up about 13% of all spider species. Interestingly when they leap, they spin a silky thread of web behind them just in case they miss their mark and need to climb back up.

Jumping In Migration

Many creatures use their ability to leap in migration.  Gazelles are one example, but fish can do the same.  As salmon make their way upstream they are able to shoot themselves 10 to 12 feet up a waterfall.   This assumes they are not snatched from mid air by a hungry bear as they make it to their spawning grounds.  The trip is hazardous and the jumping itself can be so draining the these fish can take hours to recover as this video shows.

Jumping Big Cats

Lions and tigers can jump almost equally high.  The vertical leap record for a tiger is more than 12 feet, and the lion is just a few inches less.

The puma is, however, the best jumper of all the mammals.  Pumas, or mountain lions, can leap more than 20 feet straight up without a running start

Jumping For Fun

Even masssive whales can jump straight up out of the water.  Humpbacked whales are famous for this behavior, which is referred to as breaching.  Their tails may still be in the water, but a whale’s head can be 30 feet or more in the air.

Orcas, often called killer whales, can jump close to 20 feet in the air and they actually leave the water (watch this amazing video showing an orca breach).

The mackerel shark holds the fish record for a highest jump from the water having soared more than 20 feet above the waves.

There are, of course, flying fish, but they use their fins to soar many yards but ususally stay low to the water.

Jumping to Come Ashore

Seals and penguins are land dwellers that spend much of their time in the water.  When they come to shore they are sometimes forced to make a huge water-powered leap such shown in this video of penguins springing up on to the Antarctic ice from the sea.  They often jump back into the water feet first.

Jumping from on High

Flying squirrels do not really fly.   They take huge leaps of faith and glide to their destination from on high.  The longest known glide is close to 100 yards. (Watch this video of flying squirrels.)

Jumping Beans

OK, you are saying to yourself that a Mexican jumping bean is not an animal.  That is true.  But inside the bean lurks a larval moth that puts the “jumping” into jumping bean. The moths jump when they get hot, trying to snap their body into a cooler place, as this “weird nature” video reveals.

So there you have it – a look at wild creatures that hop, jump and spring across the land, the water and into the air.  At the National Wildlife Federation we hope to see many great places for these amazing species, and all of the other “jumpers” of the world set aside and protected.

Hop on over to our website for more fun facts, posters, activities, lesson plans and games to help you celebrate National Wildlife Week >>

The solution was to fit him with a wetsuit and send him out.  His pals don’t seem to mind his unusual attire which is tastefully black in keeping with penguin dress code etiquette. 

See article and video >>

Recently, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that seven species of penguins–nearly half of known penguin species–have now been added to the list of species threatened or endangered by global warming.

As our penguin friends are already realizing, the longer we wait to confront global warming, the more costly it will be.

Over the past month, thousands of NWF’s wildlife advocates have sent messages to the Environmental Protection Agency, asking them to grant the clean car waiver.

If the EPA decides to grant the clean car waiver, it will help states to reduce the vehicle emissions that contribute to global warming.

We have to act now to safeguard the wildlife in our communities and across the world. From penguins in Antarctica to the pika in Colorado, global warming is the biggest threat facing our wildlife and wild places today.

Please let the EPA know you support the clean car waiver, which will empower states to take immediate action to reduce carbon pollution from cars and trucks.

Sending in your message during the EPA’s comment period on the clean car waiver will help ensure the agency hears that America’s wildlife advocates know how important this decision is for the future of our natural world.

NOTE: The EPA’s deadline for comments is this Monday, April 6, so please make sure you, your friends and family get your messages in today!