Penguins (Really) Love Bubbles
And they’re not the only animals that go crazy for them.
By Jessie Schiewe
Credit: Screenshot
A bubble machine might seem like an odd choice to gift a penguin, but the aquatic flightless birds are actually incredibly fond of the floating balls of air and soap.
Zoos across the world — from Toledo, Ohio and St. Luis, Missouri to Edinburgh, Scotland and Victoria, Australia — use bubbles to entertain their colonies. In fact, zoos have found that bubbles are a hit across multiple penguin species.
And with coronavirus-induced lockdowns, bubble machines have proven particularly helpful for keeping penguins stimulated while zoos remain closed to visitors.
"Things have had to change a little bit during lockdown. The animals' routines have changed a little bit on a daily basis and we've had to cut out some of the experiences and things they would receive throughout the day," a zookeeper at Newquay Zoo in Newquay, England, told FOX News in July.
"The bubble machine is fantastic as all the movement and new shapes and colors really stimulate these guys. They have a great time chasing them around.”
In addition to chasing the bubbles, penguins seem to get a particular jolt of excitement from them. In myriad YouTube videos, you can watch penguins squabble with glee and flap their wings repeatedly as they chase bubbles around their zoo enclosures.
Granted, not all penguins react to bubbles. Some just stand there, staring at them, likely wondering what on earth is floating in the air.
Many zoos receive their bubble machines as donations from the public. Some zoos even have public Wish Lists on Amazon where people can purchase items they’ve specifically listed for their animals.
That’s how the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga acquired their bubble machine in January 2016. Though the appliance — which is listed on Amazon for $34.99 — is advertised as being “for kids...and birthday parties,” it has proven popular with the Aquarium’s colony of gentoo and macaroni penguins.
And it’s not just fun that bubble machines bring penguins. They’re also enriching and stimulating, encouraging the birds’ natural behaviors and instincts and preventing them from getting bored.
“Animals are naturally curious, and it's very important for them that we as a zoo give them something to make their lives more interesting and entertaining,” Ben Sanders of Zoos Victoria told the website IFLScience.
Though bubble machines aren’t the only forms of enrichment for penguins — water slides and floating platforms also help keep them occupied — countless zoos have found that bubbles are particularly favored amongst the birds.
“Our colony of over 130 birds enjoy lots of different types of enrichment, but the bubble machine is always a firm favorite,” Lorna Moffat, a penguin keeper at Edinburgh Zoo, said.
Humans, too, are fond of the bubble machines — at least in terms of watching penguins play with them — and many are surprised to learn that the birds like them so much.
“I had no idea that penguins would be so crazy about bubbles,” one person commented on a YouTube video of African penguins popping bubbles with their beaks at the Toledo Zoo.
Another person cheekily wrote that it looked like a “penguin foam party.”
Credit: Screenshot
Penguins aren’t the only animals that go ga-ga for bubbles. Other zoo residents have demonstrated unique and adorable reactions to bubble machines, as well. Bears have tried to eat them, meerkats have chased them, wombats have watched them, and elephants have become playful when bubbles have been introduced into their enclosures.
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