My earliest memory of Penguins, as most people my age share this memory, was from the 1964 Disney movie Mary Poppins. I know, you are going to say that they were not REAL penguins. Although they were not live-action penguins, the Penguin Waiters were inspired by the Gentoo Penguin. Animation aside, those were my first exposure to this flightless species of bird.

I had probably seen penguins at the local zoo over the years, but the next memorable experience with them was one I will never forget. I would frequent a local aquarium that had penguins in their outdoor area. They also had a large gray seal named Gunther, who was part of their seal show displaying simple but impressive tricks. The reason I remember Gunther is because that was my first time being so close to a seal, and I remember being amazed at how large his head was. Sadly, they closed the seal section in 2012 and told me that it was to “expand the penguin exhibit”. I held a grudge against penguins for a very long time. When the seal section was closed, Gunter moved to the Smithsonian's National Zoo, where he spent the rest of his days and passed away at the age of 33 on January 18, 2025. I still miss Gunther.