It’s that Norwegian Penguin again!

It’s that Norwegian Penguin again!

13 August 2012  It’s that Norwegian Penguin again! Sir Nils Olav featured in Edinburgh Exhibition

‘Animals Beyond the Call of Duty’, an exhibiton celebrating the 40th anniversary of the adoption of king penguin Colonel-in-Chief Sir Nils Olav at Edinburgh Zoo, by HM the King of Norway’s Guard, explains why a penguin was knighted, explores Scottish-Norwegian wartime links and tells the stories of other animals that have served.

The exhibition runs from 17 to 31 August 2012 at Edinburgh Zoo Education Centre (10:30-15:30), and is sponsored by the Royal Norwegian Consulate General and promoted by Scandinavian Studies at the University of Edinburgh. Featured are:

Colonel-in-Chief Sir Nils Olav, a king penguin from Edinburgh Zoo who was adopted as the mascot of HM the King of Norway’s Guard in 1972 and has been steadily rising up through the ranks ever since.

Sea Dog Bamse, the heroic St Bernard mascot of Free Norwegian Forces in the Second World War, who was stationed at Montrose and Dundee.

Sea Dog Bamse (Montrose)Winkie the Pigeon, whose epic flight saved the crew of a Beaufort torpedo bomber, based at RAF Leuchars, that crashed in the North Sea following an anti-shipping mission off the Norwegian coast in 1942.

Wojtek the Bear, who was rescued as an orphan and enlisted as a private in the Polish 22nd Artillery Supply Company, fought in the Battle of Monte Cassino and lived in Edinburgh Zoo from 1947 to 1963.

The exhibition opens Friday 17 August at 11:00, in the presence of veterans from Norges Gardistforbund, with four short talks about the animals featured in the exhibition. More.