Army dives right in to penguin pool project

EDINBURGH Zoo's penguin colony welcomed some unusual swimming partners when they were joined by a group of professional divers from the British Army.

Two officers and 12 non-commission officers and sappers from the 39 Engineer Regiment spent four days bathing with the penguins to survey the Zoo's 18-year-old penguin pool.

Roslin Talbot, head keeper of penguins and sea lions, explained that they invited the divers for a swim after noticing something fishy with the water levels.

She said: "Water levels in the penguin pool were dropping, but we couldn't identify any leaks. Employing a commercial diving company to survey our pool would cost us thousands of pounds, so when the army offered to do a complimentary survey we were delighted."

The divers carried out a detailed survey with a handheld camera to log the condition of the pool and identify any problem areas.

Captain Iain Thompson, unit diving officer for the 39 Engineer Regiment, said: "We didn't discover any major problems.

"We did highlight a few areas of concern, including some minor cracking and general wear and tear, but we've carried out some remedial work to seal the cracks and remove the damaged material."

Captain Thompson continued: "Obviously this was a tricky exercise as we didn't want to disrupt the penguins."

Edinburgh Zoo has the largest outdoor penguin pool in the world and there are three different species, including rockhoppers, king penguins and gentoo penguins.