TOKYO - A video of an angry penguin has garnered over 6 million views.
The footage shows a Cape penguin male, named Gan, furiously pecking at a zookeeper. The target of Gan's fury is Michael, who regularly takes care of Gan and his companions. But why is Gan so angry?
Michael from a penguin theatre group explains, "Gan's mate, Pen, is preparing to lay eggs. Gan has become extremely protective in this period. I touched Pen before Gan got angry. Pen is quite the attention-seeker and wanted to be petted. Seeing this, Gan might have become enraged. It's completely unreasonable, truly."
Michael becomes embroiled in relentlessly pecking, unable to free his boot from Gan's grasp.
Despite the video's "cute" reactions, Michael mentions that Gan's anger was actually at its peak at that moment.
Interestingly, penguins change their attack method depending on their level of anger.
Michael elaborates, "Initially, they attack by biting with their beak. If that doesn’t work, they pull you in and hit you as hard as they can, which is typical penguin behavior. It's incredibly painful. Penguins, having evolved from birds that flew to birds that swim, have very hard wings. Being hit by them can, at worst, cause fractures."
Gan's diligent defense of his partner, Pen, suggests that her egg-laying is imminent.
Source: ANN
