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Military honour for Penguin
last update: Aug 15, 2008 12:41 PM
A penguin (the mascot for the Norwegian Kings Guard) is to be awarded an as yet unknown honour. The Penguin has already however achieved the rank of Colonel-in-Chief of the Norwegian Army .
Nils Olav inspects Guardsmen at a previous ceremony at the zoo. Source BBC News.
The Peguin is called Nils Olav, named after a young young lieutenant called Nils Egelien first visited the zoo in the 1970s. The current Penguin is the second Nils Olav and lives in the Edinburgh Zoo.
According to the article on the BBC, David Windmill, chief executive of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, the charity that owns Edinburgh Zoo, said: "We have a long-standing history with the Norwegian King's Guard and it is something we are extremely proud of.
"It's an honour that they take the time to visit us and we are all looking forward to welcoming them on Friday.
"Edinburgh Zoo is famous for its king penguins and Nils Olav is definitely the most famous of them all."
Darren McGarry, animal collection manager at Edinburgh Zoo, added: "Nils always recognises the Norwegian Guardsmen when they come to visit him.
"He loves the attention he receives at the ceremony and takes his time inspecting the troops.
"We're all very excited about his new promotion and we've all been wondering what it could be."
Norwegian King's guardsman, Captain Rune Wiik, said: "We are extremely proud of Nils Olav and pleased that an enduring part of the Royal Guard is resident in Scotland helping to further strengthen ties between our two countries."
Source: BBC News
