First Tetrapods from Early Triassic Epoch Found in Antarctica

Here is an article about 245 million year old fossilized burrows made by land mammals found in Antarctica. They did not find any fossils of the animals that made the burrows. They did find some fossilized footprints and scratch marks. These burrows date to when Antarctica was still part of Pangea and are similar to ones that have been found in South Africa. They think these were probably small lizard like reptiles.

Antarctic Ice Stream Causing Quakes

Here is an interesting article about a river of ice in Antarctica causing seismic activity. The seismic waves are occurring twice a day with a magnitude of 7 each. They are caused each time the river moves. Basically the river is a glacier that moves about 18 inches every 12 hours. It does not move slowly over 12 hours, though, but rather all at once causing the seismic waves. These waves move rather slowly and while the magnitude is big they are not as bad as a real earthquake because of the slower movement.

Television Shows with Penguins: The Good Night Show "Penguin" Episode

The Good Night Show is a three hour block of shows linked together with segments that contain different activities with a linking theme. In the "Penguin" episode these segments all have something related to penguins, which even includes teaching about penguins. Unfortunately, none of the different cartoons shown in between are Penguin themed besides Pingu.

Over the course of the 3 hour show penguin activities include teaching how to say penguin in sign language and Spanish, a Penguin Puppet Craft, and Pingu's Belly Stretch.

Television Shows with Penguins: Adventure Camp's "Pole to Pole" Episode

Adventure Camp is a reality television show on the Discovery Kids Channel. In the show kids from the UK and USA join up for an adventurous summer camp experience in Florida. In the "Pole to Pole" episode they go to extremes, which includes shoveling snow in the penguin habitat at Sea World Orlando. The penguins they have at the Sea World Penguin Encounter exhibit include the Antarctic species of Adelie Penguins and King Penguins.

Television Shows with Penguins: Bindi the Jungle Girl's "End of the World" Episode

Bindi the Jungle Girl is a kids television show that airs on the Discovery Channel. The show is hosted by Steve Irwin's daughter, Bindi. The show features several clips of her dad out in the natural habitats of the animals she teaches a little about in each episode. The "End of the World" episode includes clips of her dad in South America and Antarctica. It does seemed little too unbalanced towards the South America side, but it does have clips of him on the Antarctic Peninsula showing Gentoo penguin, Adelie penguins, and Port Lockroy.

Television Shows with Penguins: Curious George "Zoo Night" Episode

I stumbled across penguins appearing in a Curious George episode while watching a collection of the show's episodes on the Curious George - Zoo Night & Other Animal Stories DVD. The "Zoo Night" episode is about the monkey named Curious George accidentally getting locked in the zoo. As he tries to find his way out, he ends up letting the animals lose and then must get them all back in their proper habitats. One of the animals featured are penguins. The penguin appearance is quite brief, but it is there.

Video Games with Penguins: Mario Kart

Since the Antarctic news is getting slow with the Antarctic winter setting in and the main research season done, I decided to start another penguin series of posts to go with the Movies with Penguins and Television Shows with Penguins series I already started. This new series will include screenshots and/or video clips of penguins appearing in different video games. If you know of any video games with penguin character appearances, then please let me know by commenting on one of the posts in this series.

To start off the series below is the video clip I did of the N64 Sherbert Land race track in Mario Kart for Nintendo Wii. This is a fun race that was originally on the N64 version of Mario Kart and it features some penguins that you have to try not to hit when as you race through the icy scenery.

Television Shows with Penguins: Wonder Pets! Save the Penguin Episode

The Wonder Pets! is a show for preschoolers that plays daily as part of the Nick Jr. block of shows on Nickelodeon. In the show they save baby animals. In the "Save the Unicorn!, Save the Penguin!" episode they save baby penguin in the second part of the episode. This is not among the best preschool shows, but it does try to teach a little about animals and teamwork. It, however, is a kind of obnoxious show, especially with one of the characters have a speech problem, which in turn does not help preschool viewers learn how to properly pronounce some words. The penguin episode, though, is still kind of cute and interesting with them saving him on an iceberg.

McMurdo's 'Smurf Shed' Destroyed by Fire

It may be cold in Antarctica, but it got kind of hot when a fire destroyed a building at the Antarctic McMurdo Station last Monday. The so-called 'smurf shed' was a blue building that was used to store equipment used in maintaining roads in Antarctica. Read more about this and other crazy stuff that has happened in the last year at McMurdo in the article here.

Celebrity Cruises Plan to Invade Antarctica in 2010

This is really sad news to hear. The Celebrity Cruise Line has announced that they will begin doing drive-by Antarctic cruises in 2010. I really these large ships do not belong anywhere near Antarctica. While I do think people should be allowed to visit Antarctica as tourists they must still be responsible tourists and if you are going to go you should actually experience the continent. Oh, and I also am against the Hurtigruten alternative they mention in the article because they are also bigger than what I think belongs as tourist ships in the area.* The other line they mention may be one of the smaller research vessel ones, but I am not sure. I do know that there are plenty of decent options of small research vessel type cruises.


*Side Note on Hurtigruten: This is a great cruise line that I have been on in Norway. There Norwegian coastal cruises are very much recommended by me. I just do not think there ships belong in the Antarctic, although they are not as large as what the Celebrity Cruise Line will be bringing into the Antarctic.