Real Life Porgs! Puffins Have Arrived At Georgia Aquarium

Featured Image Credit: Georgia Aquarium Facebook

Fans of Star Wars: The Last Jedi may not know that the cute little creatures called porgs that were featured in the film were partially inspired by the Atlantic puffins that inhabit the island where part of the film was shot. The other two inspirations were a seal and a pug dog.  Well, now you can get a view of these real-life porgs at Georgia Aquarium. Their new puffin exhibit opened on the 19th of January.

There are eight horned puffins in the exhibit along with five tufted puffins, six common murres, and four pigeon guillemots. The exhibit is in partnership with the Alaskan SeaLife Center, where 21 of the seabirds came from. Two other birds came from the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California.

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Horned puffins look the most like the Atlantic puffins that inspired the porgs. They’re also probably what you picture in your head when you think of a puffin. Tufted puffins have all-black bodies and tufts of blonde feathers on their heads. Pigeon guillemots look a bit like a pigeon (hence the name) that can swim and a common murre is similar to a duck. These birds are all part of the alcid family. The birds are not endangered but face threats from human-made issues like global warming, toxins, fishing nets, and oil spills.

Image Credit: Georgia Aquarium Facebook

The exhibit is part of the Cold Water Quest Gallery at the Georgia Aquarium, across from the sea otters. The exhibit is made up of an 11,000-gallon tank and rock work designed to look like cliff sides. You can view the exhibit with aquarium admission, so all visitors should take a look at these amazing birds and any Star Wars fans will have the added bonus of looking at a real-life porg inspiration.