King Spike’s Coronation
Birdland invites fans of Spike, the World’s Most Popular Penguin, to attend his Coronation on Friday 2nd June when he’ll be officially presented with his winner’s trophy after beating off the competition in a global competition.
Spike, a king penguin at the Cotswold attraction, who has over 15,000 Facebook followers, won the title of Most Popular Penguin in the World after winning Penguins International ‘March of The Penguins Madness’ challenge earlier this year.
The competition saw entrants from as far afield as Australia, America and Canada. The final had Spike up against an African penguin called Mai from the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa in Hawaii. Worldwide reaction to the final was such that organisers had to extend voting due to their website crashing.
On Friday 2nd June, as part of their ‘Birds Behaving Badly’ weeklong celebration, Birdland will be officially presenting Spike with his winner’s trophy in his own Coronation ceremony. The presentation will take place during the two Keeper Talks at 11:00am and 2:30pm. Plus there’ll be a regal throne, fit for a king, providing a perfect selfie spot for visitors to pose on next to the Penguin Shore enclosure.
The trophy will be presented by Spike’s keeper Alistair Keen who has raised him from an egg after he was rejected by his parents.
“It’s been absolutely overwhelming to witness the support for Spike from around the world,” said Alistair.
“He’s obviously a particular favourite with me, but for him to have made quite such a global impact is really incredible.
“Spike is a real personality, and we all have a fantastic bond with him, having been hand-reared by us in 2007 after being abandoned.
“As well as being great news for Spike, the worldwide awareness created by the competition is also incredibly important for penguin conservation.” he added.
