Glossary (the bit that tells you what all the difficult words mean)
Turkmenistan president is to spend millions of pounds on a lavish desert zoo-to house penguins.
The president in question being the eccentric Saparmurat Niyazov (that's a long name). In the past he has spent £10 million (a bit more than you get paid for washing the car) on a giant ICE PALACE. The temperatures rise over 40 degrees Celsius (this may cause a few problems as the ice palace might MELT).
So why has this bumbling buffoon decided to build an ice palace in the middle of the Karakorum desert? Well he says "I must have penguins in my zoo or they shall die from starvation caused by Global warming!" However we all think that he has a soft spot for our cute, cuddly, black and white friends.
Map.
HERE HE IS THE PRESIDENT...
...In ALL HIS GLORY (If you can call it glory)
The mad the amazing the rather eccentric Saparmurat Niyazov. The Man who banned recorded music and men with long hair.
Saparmurat Niyazov was born on February 19,
1940, into a worker's family in Ashgabat. His father died in battle in World
War II and the remaining members of his family perished in Ashgabat’s massive
earthquake of 1948. In 1962 Mr. Niyazov became a member of the
Communist Party (BOOOO!).
On October 27, 1990, Mr. Niyazov was elected the first president of the Turkmen
Soviet Socialist Republic. Under his leadership, on October 27,
1991, Turkmenistan proclaimed its sovereignty from the Soviet Union. In a second
presidential election held on June 21, 1991, which was necessitated by the
adoption of the new constitution, Mr. Niyazov was elected President of the
Republic of Turkmenistan. Mr. Niyazov is also Chairman of the Cabinet of
Ministers and Chairman of the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan.
And introducing the stars of our show...
As you probably know our black and white friends aren't usually found in the desert. They usually hang out in the cool areas like the Arctic (Chilli).
Did you know that
1. All 17 species of penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere.
2. Don't laugh but, During the breeding season, female penguins are sometimes identifiable by muddy footprints on their backs, left by males during mating activity.
3. The emperor penguin is the largest of all living penguins, standing 1.1 m (3.7 ft.) and weighing 27 to 41 kg (60-90 lb.).
4. Some penguin species spend as much as 75% of their lives in the sea. Some species spend several months at a time at sea, only coming ashore for breeding and molting (del Hoyo, et al., 1992). The Fiordland crested penguins sometimes grow barnacles on their tails, an indication that they are at sea for long periods (Muller-Schwarze, 1984).
5. To maintain streamlining with least resistance while swimming under water, a penguin keeps its head hunched into its shoulders. The feet are pressed close to the body against the tail to aid in steering (Marchant, 1990).
GLOSSARY
Lavish > To give or bestow in abundance; shower: lavished attention on his customers.
Eccentric>A person of odd or unconventional behaviour.
Global Warming>An increase in the average temperature of the earth's atmosphere, especially a sustained increase sufficient to cause climatic change.
Communist>Someone that you should never become.
WOW! An
Not something you'll usually see on the way to school is it.
