Waddle, Waddle, Waddle, Waddle, Waddle!
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Why are scientists at the London Zoo trying to coax Puddle the Humboldt penguin and his pals across this hi-tech track? Because they’re all about that waddle!
After offering a fishy treat, Puddle finally crossed the runway. The scientists are visiting the zoo from the RVC and University of Texas to study the bird’s distinctive walk.
“Penguins move in a really weird way,” explained Prof Hutchinson. “They have a very upright posture like a human, but they also have very short, crouched legs – it is very comical.”
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The professor added, “But when I see an animal do something weird, as an evolutionary biologist, I want to know how that evolved, how it got that way. And with these experiments, we’re trying to tie what we know about penguin evolution with penguin physics.”
Previous studies concluded the waddle was the most energy efficient way for penguins to get around on land, and these new experiments are concerned with the how.
“They are applying forces left and right as they swing their bodies from side to side,” said Prof Hutchinson. “But what is not known about penguins is how the legs do that, how big are the sideways forces on penguin legs and how that compares to other waddling birds. And that’s why we need these force platforms to measure the forces in the legs individually.”
Did penguins always waddle? Fossils reveal that their ancestors may not have. “We have all kinds of fossils as far back as 60 million years ago from the Southern Hemisphere,” said palaeobiologist James Proffitt, who has come from Texas to study the birds.
“That gives us a chance to understand how these unusual anatomies and behaviours have evolved in deep time and how we have all these bizarre things we see today.”
Photo credit: BBC News
Today’s living penguins may have evolved their anatomy and gait to become better swimmers.
Read more from BBC News Science Correspondent, Rebecca Morelle.
