Rockhopper Penguins are a unique species of penguin that are often kept in captivity due to the high level of predators that exist in their natural habitats. So, in order to make their enclosure look a little more friendly and inviting, designers at LEGO decided to start an initiative known as LEGOLIVE. The idea is to create to-scale replicas of a number of different animals that are to be put on display at the Edinburgh Zoo. These photographs capture the priceless moments when Rockhopper penguins encountered their larger-than-life counterparts in their enclosure and it’s truly priceless!
As the bemused Rockhoppers started gathering around the sculpture, which was made of some 3,500 LEGO bricks, you could tell that they were veritably fascinated with the obtuse sculpture. They tilted their heads, squawked and pecked at the statue trying to figure out why it wasn’t responding! This was definitely a first for the Penguins, many of whom had been bred and raised entirely in captivity from birth. It was highly amusing to see how they would react to a large-scale LEGO version of themselves and we hope that they welcome the new addition into their enclosure quickly!
The LEGOLIVE program is designed to help raise awareness about animals and our responsibility to keep the world a clean and safe place for them to live in. The project is intended to use 1 million individual LEGO bricks to help create a variety of different animals that will be kept as sculptures in the zoo. These animals include hammerhead sharks, killer whale, giant squid and a manatee stretching over 3 meters! The team is working tirelessly to create the most effective array of animals – around 30 to be exact. Hopefully, if you can’t make it all the way to Edinburgh, we’ll be able to see completed versions of them online in a short while!
