Headless penguin continues to thrive at Japanese Zoo

by Meg on December 30, 2008

He still manages to stay pretty plump despite his lack of a noodle.

Carry on!

ONLY at a Japanese Zoo, Ben D. Only at… a JAPANESE ZOO!Asahikawa January 05, 2008_-7 by Patoland.

{ 112 comments }

1 Von Zeppelin 12.30.08 at 8:59 pm

He must be some sort of Antarctic version of that weird shape-shifting owl.

2 warrior rabbit 12.30.08 at 9:02 pm

Looks like an interesting (warm and comfy) throw pillow.

3 MoonCatty 12.30.08 at 9:02 pm

Note to self:

Not all whales eat krill. Look before poking head into ice opening.

4 chicken1mama 12.30.08 at 9:08 pm

OMG

5 BeckyMonster 12.30.08 at 9:08 pm

Damn you global warming! Now the penguins don’t have heads! Heehehehehhe

6 Tony James 12.30.08 at 9:12 pm

If you are a fan of avian fiction, as I am, then I am sure you are familiar with the tale that finishes “…and if you venture abroad on dark, moonless, nights, then take care that you are not found by…the Headless Penguin of Fleecy Hollow!”
This is how penguin mothers scare their children to bed, you know.

7 Suzanne 12.30.08 at 9:13 pm

Okay…I just spent the last 5 minutes debating with myself whether or not a baby pen-gehn could exist without a head or not. Apparently I need MORE vacation time!

I agree with WR…looks like a very comfy pillow!

8 tara 12.30.08 at 9:20 pm

i don’t know whether to be moritified from the traumatic no-head-ness, or mortified from the eyeball-melting fluffy cuteness.

9 Liz 12.30.08 at 9:20 pm

WHAT HAPPENED? WHERE IS HIS HEAD?

[Hang on, I'm sure I've got a spare somewhere in one of these drawers... - Ed.]

10 MoonCatty 12.30.08 at 9:23 pm

For that matter, we can’t know for sure whether Pengy has another wing or a second foot…

11 BabyB 12.30.08 at 9:24 pm

Looks like the tock side of a one-legged wolf to me.

12 lurkertype 12.30.08 at 9:30 pm

LOL, Teej!

[Heh, maybe we should re-run this one, next Halloween... - Ed.]

13 BouvieGal 12.30.08 at 9:33 pm

It’s creepy and kooky,
Mysterious and spooky,
It’s all together ooky…

Cousin Itt!

14 putting y'all at eeez 12.30.08 at 9:34 pm

LOL- I, too, spent way too much time trying to figure out if he truly was a headless pengy… that is until I clicked on the link and read the FLIKR comments to the photo… turns out he’s just a very shy fluffy pillow and kept hiding from the paparazi. whew. I can rest easy now. : )

15 Theo 12.30.08 at 9:36 pm

Still waiting for that one tired old inevitable comment… but don’t get me wrong, I won’t be disappointed if it never shows up…

16 steppy 12.30.08 at 9:43 pm

Steppy wants to snuggle the headless pengy. Steppy a bit camera shy herself.

17 NeoCleo 12.30.08 at 9:52 pm

This is SO disturbing.

18 victoreia 12.30.08 at 9:53 pm

@BouvieGal: don’t you mean Cousin Peg(uin)?

19 Lerrinus 12.30.08 at 9:55 pm

*Refrains from making Teho’s expected comment* ;->

20 POSTY MCPOSTERTON 12.30.08 at 10:00 pm

Where is he hiding his head?

~Dan

21 berthaservant 12.30.08 at 10:01 pm

I’m more curious as to what Teho is expecting as opposed to where da head went.

Let’s face it, those Penguin French Revolution re-enacters are REALLY committed to their work.

22 Billy 12.30.08 at 10:05 pm

That penguin is now fully qualified to be a politician

[Hear hear... hey, I think I figured out where its head is! - Ed.]

23 BouvieGal 12.30.08 at 10:14 pm

@victoreia–Yes, LOL! Cousin PenguITT!

24 Theo 12.30.08 at 10:14 pm

Lerrinus & Berthaservant: please discuss quietly amongst yourselves.
Or between. Betwixt?

25 AuntieMame 12.30.08 at 10:19 pm

Because we can tell by the pixels, ya know…

26 Theo 12.30.08 at 10:24 pm

AuntieM, go play in the corner with Lerri and BServ.

27 AuntieMame 12.30.08 at 10:27 pm

Okay. Sorry…

*shuffles to the corner*

Would it help if I said I thought it was fuzzy ‘tocks at first, before I scrolled far enough down to see the feets?

28 Lu 12.30.08 at 10:31 pm

…’shopped?

29 Rachel 12.30.08 at 10:35 pm

I lived in Japan a few years ago, and have been to that zoo. I just wanted to let everyone know that about twice a day, they have a penguin parade at that zoo. Yes, a PENGUIN PARADE, where all the emperor penguins go take a stroll through the zoo and everyone gets out their cameras and goes “awww, kawaii!” and the penguins jump around in the snow (if it’s December, at least. Which is when I went). It is mind blowing.

30 Deborah Godin 12.30.08 at 10:36 pm

Peng designed by Rene Magritte
(Google image search)

31 Theo 12.30.08 at 10:40 pm

AuntieMame, Lerrinus, Berthaservant — you may pelt Lu with puddings. They’re in the mini-fridge under my desk. (Leave the beers alone, please.)

32 pyrit 12.30.08 at 10:42 pm

Eskimo bowling pin?

33 Theo 12.30.08 at 10:43 pm

Nerf bowling, maybe.

34 kristin 12.30.08 at 10:57 pm

I thought it was a polar bear ‘tocks before I scrolled down…

35 Theo 12.30.08 at 10:59 pm

In the end, isn’t *everything* ‘tocks?

36 John E 12.30.08 at 11:06 pm

Oh mannnnn, and I just bought a hat for that penguin for Christmas! Dang!!

[Not a problem. There's this snail I know, see... - Ed.]

37 AuntieMame 12.30.08 at 11:15 pm

“In the end, isn’t *everything* ‘tocks?”

BWAH!

You’ll have to research it, Teho, to see if you can get to the bottom of it.

*wonders what would happen if you drop a Mentos in a bottle of beer…*

38 Mary (the first) 12.30.08 at 11:19 pm

maybe he needs a head-cozy .. similar to snail-cozy awhile back.. to tempt his head out of hiding?

39 Boomer's Babysitter 12.30.08 at 11:36 pm

He’s just nostalgic for his pre-hatched state… isn’t he just perfectly oval?!

40 Boomer's Babysitter 12.30.08 at 11:36 pm

And THEN I notice the hovertext. Great minds? Twisted minds? You pick.

41 Theo 12.30.08 at 11:45 pm

Great minds twist alike?

42 chanpon 12.30.08 at 11:57 pm

Oh man, when I was in Tokyo I was only treated to a pelican parade, no headless-penguin parades. Must have picked the wrong zoo.

This is going to sound so wrong, but even their undead penguins are cuter than ours!

43 VPutz 12.31.08 at 12:29 am

I actually believed it for a bit–after all, I’m well familiar with the festival celebrating Mike the Headless Chicken (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_the_Headless_Chicken ), who actually lived for 18 months WITHOUT A HEAD.

SO HAPPY that didn’t happen to this fuzzy fellow!

[Yeah, I think Meg's making a nod to ol' Mike, since he couldn't... - Ed.]

[...not THAT Mike. - Ed.]

44 VPutz 12.31.08 at 12:30 am

…er, obviously remove the “),” from the url above.

45 Anna 12.31.08 at 12:34 am

That is just ridiculous. Some Japanese anime fan probably decided to construct a headless plush that is to be some new fuzzy cute thing on a dvd somewhere with lots of bid breasted women. Maybe it will come to the US?? I would totally buy that.

46 Theo 12.31.08 at 12:41 am

“bid breasted women”… well I’m *trying* to picture that, I really am…

47 kestrien 12.31.08 at 12:52 am

OT, but is anyone else here as EXCITED as I am to open my Cute Overload desk calendar the day after tomorrow????

48 pyrit 12.31.08 at 12:58 am

It’s the economy, man.
Even the pengies can’t get a head.

49 berthaservant 12.31.08 at 1:37 am

Nice lols, everyone!

50 Katya 12.31.08 at 1:37 am

The japanese win again!

51 auntyb 12.31.08 at 1:49 am

Aww, it’s so much fun here when everyone plays nice….*still traumatized by all the bird and kitteh nuffs*

52 MoonCatty 12.31.08 at 1:54 am

Eric, The Half A Penguin.

53 BabyOpossum 12.31.08 at 2:03 am

He’s a fuzzy, winged weeble!

54 Annie 12.31.08 at 2:56 am

Webbles wobble but they don’t fall down…

[Woobles warble but they purple monkey dishwasher? - Ed.]

55 Minya 12.31.08 at 3:28 am

You’re all completely hilarious! :) Penguin French Revolution re-enacters–I swear I hurt something from laughing too hard.

I’m just so glad that there is a zoo even for differently abled penguins.

56 Theo 12.31.08 at 3:30 am

I think they prefer the term “vertically challenged”, Minya.

57 cheeb 12.31.08 at 3:33 am

Awwww! He’s like a sideways kiwi! My tiel hides her head all the time, I have some pics just like this.

58 lemurland 12.31.08 at 3:42 am

I wish I could lose my head too. I’d probably be much happier.

59 Minya 12.31.08 at 3:42 am

Theo-

My bad! I have to keep up on the terms!! :)

60 bev 12.31.08 at 3:49 am

I’m here to celebrate the Internet, folks. The Internet with a capital “I”. Without which there would be no CO. No cute baby penguins hiding their heads. No commentators like VPutz. And I would be less of a person because I would not have followed a link to a Wiki article on Mike, the Headless Chicken.

And to think. There I was. It was the 1990s and we had this dial-ey, beep-ey modem thing and these “web pages” that loaded like molasses in wintertime and I was thinking “Why? WHY?!!? Why do we need this?!” Oh Internet, how could I have doubted you?

The world economy may be in the tank, people…but all in all, these are good times we live in. Good times.

61 Theo 12.31.08 at 3:55 am

Uerghhh, the ’90s… all those BEIGE computers… [shiver]

62 DixiesMom 12.31.08 at 4:06 am

Ok, some of y’all are gonna have nighmares about the scary, skinny evil-owl? I’m gonna have nightmares about Mike the Headless Chicken… EWW, EWW, EEWWWWW!!!!!

63 Maxie 12.31.08 at 4:11 am

I cannot believe no one else has posted:

Austin Powers: Not the time to lose one’s head.
Vanessa Kensington: No.
Austin Powers: That’s not the way to get ahead in life.
Vanessa Kensington: No.
Austin Powers: It’s a shame he wasn’t more headstrong.
Vanessa Kensington: Hmm.
Austin Powers: He’ll never be the head of a major corporation.
Vanessa Kensington: Okay, that’ll do.
Austin Powers: Okay.

64 Gl1tt3r 12.31.08 at 4:24 am

kestrien- me too, me too!
I tried to peek ahead, but my mum (who bought me the calendar) snapped at me.
I guess I’ll have to wait to see what cuteness lies ahead!

65 Decca 12.31.08 at 4:28 am

Please tell me her name is Marie Antoinette

66 bees on pie 12.31.08 at 4:29 am

@MoonCatty: NICE!

Is this wretched demi-peng
Half-asleep upon my leg
Some freak from a zoo in Japan?
No! It’s Eric, the Half a Penguin!

67 Hon Glad 12.31.08 at 7:10 am

I try to ovoid things like this.

68 VegetarianViking 12.31.08 at 8:32 am

Apropos Bowling Pin – don’t tell me I’m the only one here wanting to tip him/her over? Please?

69 Annie J 12.31.08 at 8:35 am

Man, the whole lot of you are so punny! XD

70 totalee puppy 12.31.08 at 12:39 pm

HON GLAD…ROFL! “I try to
ovoid things like this.”

71 totalee puppy 12.31.08 at 12:59 pm

HON GLAD…I’d like to start a new year with an
apology to you for my being
nufferzilla to one of the
coolest people here at CO.
Hope I’m growing up and reaching out and wise-ing up.

72 Meggy 12.31.08 at 1:00 pm

lol everyone!!! Can someone please knit this penguin a head?

73 VegetarianViking 12.31.08 at 1:30 pm

Meggy – Sure. Just let me get his measurements, I have some gray fluffy yarn here that will fit nicely to his body. But I’m afraid I’m all out of eyes and beaks. Can somebody help me out?

74 Charlie 12.31.08 at 1:58 pm

first the walrus buckit now the pingus head will lolcats steal ANYTHING o.o

75 Theresa 12.31.08 at 3:22 pm

All of you:
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[...*clunk* - Ed.]

76 Theo 12.31.08 at 3:40 pm

…you see this? All of this right here, a classic collection of CO comments from when everybody’s been really “on”? This makes dealing with all that other internet crapola worth it. THIS is why I stick around.

(Also, Meg pays me now.)

77 Katrina 12.31.08 at 3:58 pm

Whatever currency or barter Meg is using, I’m certainly glad you stick around, oh “Ed Extraordinare”. I keep forgetting to read the comments over the pictures- then someone reminds us and oh, yes, it is soo worth it.
Oval, Theo, Oval. Think oval.

78 catloveschanel 12.31.08 at 4:05 pm

Add this ditty to MC’s Note to Self:

Well, I stuck my head in a little skunk hole,
and the little skunk said:
“Well, BLESS MY SOUL!
Take it out… Take it out… Take it out…
Re-moooooooooooovvvve it.

TOO LATE!”

79 catloveschanel 12.31.08 at 4:06 pm

Oh sorry – tune to above is Do your ears hang low?

[Which, in turn, is to the tune of "Turkey in the Straw" - Ed.]

80 blair 12.31.08 at 4:06 pm

First Thanksgiving caused genetic selection for turkeys with massive breasts, and now we have Tocktober to thank for all-tock penguins.

And just look what Nosevember did to the elephants!

81 Kristabelle 12.31.08 at 5:00 pm

HA! Hilarious! and the comments are killer today!

82 Gail (the first one) 12.31.08 at 5:29 pm

This is a new pillow from Ikea, “Semipenkjoln”. The designer felt that the head detracted from the clean design lines that people have come to expect from Ikea.

83 Noelegy 12.31.08 at 5:31 pm

It’s a giant pussy willow (or willow catkin) with feet!

84 Theo 12.31.08 at 5:48 pm

That sounds awfully plausible, Gail.
(and *SNERK*, Noel)

85 Theresa 12.31.08 at 6:23 pm

@Catloveschanel, are we singing camp songs now? Here’s an apt one:
“I’m being swallowed by a boa constrictor,
And I don’t like it one little bit!
Oh no! He swallowed my toe
Oh gee! He’s up to my knee
Oh my! He’s up to my thigh
Oh fiddle! He’s up to my middle
Oh heck! He’s up to my neck
Oh dread! He’s up to my . . .”

86 anner 12.31.08 at 7:17 pm

Another victim of cruel breeding practices!

87 Kristabelle 12.31.08 at 7:54 pm

LOL Theresa!!! I never went to camp, but we did sing that song a lot at my house – Shel Silverstein is to blame, I guess.

88 Jenn 12.31.08 at 8:08 pm

Amazing how he balances on one foot, what with no head and all.

89 catloveschanel 12.31.08 at 8:43 pm

Theresa,

Great Verse! I never did hear that stanza, but I shall now add it to my repertoire.

2nd verse same as the first!

Off with his ‘ead!

90 cheryl 12.31.08 at 8:51 pm

all of the other reindeer, and MOST of this here penguin.

91 Theresa 12.31.08 at 9:32 pm

Here’s another:
In the Tower of London, large as life,
The ghost of Ann Boleyn walks, they declare.
Poor Ann Boleyn was once King Henry’s wife -
Until he made the Headsman bob her hair!
Ah yes! he did her wrong long years ago,
And she comes up at night to tell him so.

With her head tucked underneath her arm
She walks the Bloody Tower!
With her head tucked underneath her arm
At the Midnight hour!

Goes on for dozens more verses. ;)

92 Theo 12.31.08 at 10:18 pm
93 jerryatric 12.31.08 at 10:49 pm

are u all dense ???????
if you dont eat u dont sh** then if u dont sh** u die ???? how does it eat ?? havent you seen happy feet ??? use your f***in brain

94 Tobi 01.01.09 at 2:06 am

TIS FULFFEH!

95 MoonCatty 01.01.09 at 10:22 am

bees on pie ~

LOL @ your transmutation song! It would make Monty Python smile.

And now, a New Years Joke:

Two penguins walk into a bar.
One penguin doesn’t have a head.
Penguin with a head drinks himself loopy.
It’s okay.
Headless penguin is the designated driver.

96 Katrina 01.01.09 at 2:16 pm

Yay Theresa, Yay Kingston Trio! Such a great picture!
I’ve forgotten the “YAY” sign-can someone remind me please? Thanks!
Happy and Cute New Year!

97 Lerrinus 01.01.09 at 2:26 pm

Happy Nude Year! Whoops! *New* Year! (Sorry about the beer, Theo!)

98 Theo 01.01.09 at 4:10 pm

’sokay, we had bubbly.

99 Ashley 01.01.09 at 8:33 pm

OMG where is his head!!!
Is that real??

WOAH!!!!!

100 pyrit 01.01.09 at 9:11 pm

(unrolls scroll) Hear ye, the crimes of the penguin! For once impersonating a tuxedoed secret agent in her majesty’s service! For also attempting ministerial pulpit duties while preaching falsehoods about herring. And for manifesting upon the Oreo trademark! The penguin, held in the Traitor’s Cloisters, was given an executioner’s date, but finally gained leniency from the Queen by promising to just be a penguin. However, in a moment of weakness, lost its head for making claims against a certain famous book publisher!

101 pyrit 01.01.09 at 9:32 pm

Moral of the story: Mime doesn’t pay.

C’mon, it’s punguin…

:-p!

102 Theo 01.02.09 at 4:39 am

[looks around]
I think you’ve won by default, Py.

103 Katrina 01.02.09 at 1:45 pm

No, Py- by acclaimation, that was funny!

So, what is the “YAY” sign please?

Terry Prachett has a new book out and he has been Knighted by Her Majesty, the Queen of um, Everything and Beyond. I’m making a ‘book run’ today!

104 Katrina 01.02.09 at 1:47 pm

Does anyone remember the New York Daily News front page- “Headless Corpse Found in Topless Bar” ? Just askin’.
It was one of the best headlines ever, pardon the circular reference.

A Mime is a terrible thing to waste.

105 Theo 01.02.09 at 1:57 pm
106 Kristabelle 01.02.09 at 4:03 pm

\o/

This is the YAY sign!

Happy New Year! The CO calendar is here on my desk at work! YAY! \o/

107 ash 01.02.09 at 10:25 pm

Happy New Year, folks!
Diggin’ the headless penguin. Everyone here made me LOL. I lurve y’all here at CO (Meg, Teho, NTMTOM) and I always enjoy reading comments made by the regulars (Bserv, momof2kitties, auntiemame, etc).

Thanks for a whole year of laughs and cuteness!

-ash

108 Briana 01.23.09 at 4:00 pm
109 Briana 01.23.09 at 4:01 pm
110 Briana 01.23.09 at 4:03 pm
111 Briana 01.23.09 at 4:04 pm

Hey dumb thing .. sorry for the triple post ..sigh

112 Jackie 02.05.09 at 10:06 am

We know! We know! All the cute is in Japan!

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