Even Penguins Can Play Games on the iPad [Video]

Penguins at the Aquarium of the Pacific - June Keyes Penguin Exhibit enjoy playing games on the iPad, says Hugh Ryono. The husbandry volunteer recently posted a video of a young penguin playing Game for Cats.

As an enrichment for these youngsters aviculturalist Sara told me about her idea of using an iPad game made for cats as penguin entertainment. Just like cats penguins are very curious and the idea of these birds following a virtual mouse on a screen was just too appealing to me not to try out. Dusting off my old iPad 1 and loading Game for Cats app on it we set up a penguin video arcade in the exhibit last week.

Sure enough when Jeremy and Newsom noticed the iPad in the exhibit they both waddled on over. Jeremy was the first to try it out but Newsom was the one that really got into it. Stalking the virtual mouse intently he tried to pick it up repeatedly with his beak. Newsom especially seemed to like the squeak that the mouse made when he put his beak on the virtual critter. The mouse was self reinforcing for this penguin. Newsom set the penguin high score of 1600 for the game.

Check out the video below...

[via Reddit] [via Harry]