World-weary penguin sets record in Funen

The world’s oldest penguin is seeing out her days in luxury in Odense

Never ask a lady her age, that’s what I was always told. Yet for the Guinness World Records it seems that nothing is sacred …

It is now over 41 years since aptly-named Olde, the gentoo penguin, was born at Edinburgh Zoo, and the records organisation yesterday acknowledged this feat of longevity by naming the now Odense resident the “oldest penguin in captivity”.

Worldly experience
The great-great-great-grandmother has seen more of the world than you might expect of a penguin. Born in Edinburgh, Olde also spent time in Montreal before landing in Odense in 2003.

Her kids shared her love for travel: sent to zoos in the US, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and her homeland of Scotland.

Double the normal expectancy
Out in the wild, gentoo penguins tend to live for 15-20 years, whilst in captivity this average rises to around 30. For Olde, though, age is more of a feeling.

Owing to her age, the old bird gets a little more special attention. Animal keeper Sandie Munck says she is treated to small baths as she can no longer get into the water, as well as “all the fish she can eat”.





  • How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    Being part of a trade union is a long-established norm for Danes. But many internationals do not join unions – instead enduring workers’ rights violations. Find out how joining a union could benefit you, and how to go about it.

  • Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals are overrepresented in the lowest-paid fields of agriculture, transport, cleaning, hotels and restaurants, and construction – industries that classically lack collective agreements. A new analysis from the Workers’ Union’s Business Council suggests that internationals rarely join trade unions – but if they did, it would generate better industry standards.

  • Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    The numbers are especially striking amongst the 3,477 business and economics students polled, of whom 31 percent elected Novo Nordisk as their favorite, compared with 20 percent last year.