Then there’s the not-so-little matter of the opposition, hungry as a pack of ravenous wolves and willing to do pretty much whatever it takes to dethrone the defending champs, even if it means straying beyond the boundaries of fair and gentlemanly play. Talk about putting some hard miles on your hockey odometer! Not after logging a grueling 221 games and counting, including the pre- and postseason, over the past 21 months. Like the aging Ali, the Pens don’t seem to have the legs at this stage to mount a sustained attack-at least not for a prolonged stretch of time. It’s a trend likely born out of necessity rather than choice. Wholly reminiscent of Ali’s “rope-a-dope” tactic. They allow their opponent to take the early initiative, then…WHAM…they respond in devastating, counter-punch fashion. Instead, the Pens keep reverting to an odd, bend-but-not-break style as they did during last night’s scintillating 4-1 triumph over Nashville. Kind of like a youthful Ali used to do before age and attrition caught up with him. I keep expecting our Penguins to snap back to last spring’s form, when they overwhelmed foes with a lethal dose of skill, speed and pressure.
So what’s with the long-winded boxing analogy? With stunning speed and precision, he landed a crisp left-right combination, buckling Foreman’s knees. Toward the end of the eighth round-Foreman exhausted from all the punching-could barely lift his massive arms. Yet at the opening bell, Ali confounded the experts-not to mention his corner-by backing into the ropes and inviting Foreman to hit him.įor seven rounds Big George hammered away while Ali deftly slipped, blocked and parried many of his thunderous blows. Those who did felt the ex-champ needed to stay on his toes.
#Penguin predators professional
Considered on the downside of a brilliant boxing career, 32-year-old Muhammad Ali faced heavyweight champ George Foreman, a murderous puncher who’d kayoed 37 of 40 professional opponents.įew gave Ali a chance against the powerful Foreman, undefeated and seven years his junior. Predation by New Zealand sea lions (Phocarctos hookeri) as a threat to the viability of yellow-eyed penguins (Megadyptes antipodes) at Otago Peninsula, New Zealand. Biological Conservation, 135(2), 235-246.Go back in time with me to the night of October 30, 1974. Lalas, C., Ratz, H., McEwan, K., & McConkey, S.
Revista de biología marina y oceanografía, 49(2), 373-377. chrysocome en isla Gonzalo, Diego Ramírez, sur de Chile. Depredación del lobo marino común Otaria flavescens sobre el pingüino de penacho amarillo Eudyptes c. New records of South American sea lion Otaria flavescens predation on southern rockhopper penguins Eudyptes chrysocome at Staten Island, Argentina. Predation on king penguins by Antarctic fur seals. Killer whale predation on penguins in Antarctica. Leopard seal predation of adelie penguins.
Nonetheless, penguins are also at risk on land, where more enemies await for adults and their offspring. So far, we have discovered a variety of penguin enemies living and hunting in the same waters as penguins. This increase may cause a major threat to these endangered penguins if predation rates intensify 8. In this case, the sea lions are from a recovering population with numbers steadily increasing.
Sea lion predation on penguins has been observed both during swimming at sea and while resting on land.įinally, there are records of New Zealand sea lions feeding on yellow-eyed penguins. Similarly, South American sea lions have been observed attacking and killing Rockhopper and Gentoo penguins in Argentina, Chile and the Falkland Islands 6,7. Although most sea lions are largely dependent on fish and smaller marine vertebrates, many of them have been recorded preying on penguins.įor example, Antarctic fur seals have been documented preying on King Penguins ashore 5. The evidence for sea lions and fur-seals preying on penguins is more extensive.