上天気ながら物音、人声が聞こえない静かな昼前のひと時、台所で注文のお弁当作りをしていたら「こんにちは」とカフェにお客様。出てみると虫や動物については百科事典のように詳しいOさんでした。いつも仕事の行き帰りに寄ってくれるOさんが「今日は休みなんです」と非番なのに訪ねてくれました。そして、カウンターの上にかわいいフィギュアが一つ置かれました。「わぁ、ペンギン！」と喜ぶ私。ちょうど一人分のお弁当は余裕で作れたので、それと鮭粕汁を提供し、Oさんが食べ私が質問するといった感じでペンギンについての勉強会が始まりました。
これはキングペンギンというそうで、ヒナから大人へ移行中の姿だとか。その証拠に背中や胸のところにヒナの毛が残っています。フィギュアは一足先にうちに来ているアナグマと同じ作者だそうで、Oさんはそれを忠実に色付けするのが趣味とのこと。
ペンギンといえば南極に生息するものとばかり思っていたら１８種類のペンギンのうち南極大陸にすむのはアデリーペンギンと皇帝ペンギンの二種類だけだそうでキングペンギンは南極周辺の島にいるそう。
ペンギンの話で一番感動的だったのは母親が子供のためにえさを探しにいっている間（水辺は敵が多く危険なので子育て中は海から離れたところにいるそうです）キングペンギンの子供たちは父親と一緒に何か月も何も食べないで待っているとのこと。母親は採った魚を消化せずに貯めておくところが体内にあるらしく、それを持ち帰って子供たちに食べさせるそうです。
ペンギン講座はもっと続きましたが長くなるのでこの辺で。
It was a beautiful quiet day. When I was preparing box lunches in the kitchen which I had already placed an order, someone said "Hello" at the cafe. It was Mr. O who has great knowledge about insects and animals. I wondered because usually he stops by on the way to work or to go home after work but it was an unusual time for him to come. "Today is my day off," said Mr.O. He came to show a little penguin figure to me, and he put it on the counter. "Wow, what a cute penguin it is!" I said. Since I could make an extra lunch for him, I served it to him with soup. I asked several questions about the little figure while he was eating his lunch. Thus my study session about penguins started.
It is King Penguin and the figure shows the transition from chick to adult. You can see the chick down on the shoulder and some part in front. The person who created the figure is the same person who created the badger which I already got in my cafe. Mr. O painted both in natural color and he likes to do it very much.
I thought that all penguins live in Antarctica but Mr. O corrected my understanding. Only two penguins which are Emperor Penguin and Adelie Penguin live in Antarctica among 18 kinds of penguins and others such as King Penguin are living islands near Antarctica.
The most impressive story from Mr. O was about raising the children of King Penguin. In child rearing, they move inland rather than near the sea to protect their children from various enemies, and while the mother goes to get food for her babies, they are waiting for their mother with their father without eating anything for months. The mother stores the fish that she catches in her body without digesting them, and feeds them to her babies upon her return.
My penguin lesson continued from there but since my post will be long I will stop here.
