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← All pet newsTHE DAILY PAW · 15 October 2026

Penguin personalities and a five-cub camera break

A penguin stroll with some memorable characters and a cheetah family worth a quiet watch: two cheerful animal stories, originally announced on 9 October, with a separate dose of pet portrait inspiration.

The penguins are going for a Wee Waddle again

Edinburgh Zoo's famous penguin stroll is back, with a distinguished king penguin and a character who once took too much interest in shoelaces.

King penguin with orange and yellow markings standing at Edinburgh Zoo
King penguin identified as Nils Olav at Edinburgh Zoo, photographed in May 2019. Archive photograph, not the October 2026 Wee Waddle. Wikimedia-provided resized thumbnail; no alteration to photograph content. Photo: Grendelkhan · CC BY-SA 4.0

Some animals have a way of making a short walk feel like a grand entrance. Edinburgh Zoo's penguins are back at it: the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland announced the return of its Wee Waddle on 9 October, just in time for the October break.

The experience gives visitors a chance to watch gentoo, rockhopper and king penguins explore a walkway outside their habitat. In this version of the long-running Penguin Parade, discovery rangers also introduce the zoo's three penguin species. It is a stroll with a little learning tucked between the footsteps.

Among the characters named by the charity are Sir Nils Olav and Kevin, who was previously banned from the experience for nipping at shoelaces. That tiny detail is a reminder of what makes animal stories stick: the individual personality, rather than just the species name.

The announced viewing time is 2.15pm, Friday to Sunday. Check Edinburgh Zoo's current information before making a special journey, as arrangements can change. Meanwhile, anyone whose pet has a signature entrance, favourite perch or suspicious interest in a slipper will recognise the joy of an animal doing things entirely its own way.

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Five tiny reasons to take a cheetah-cam break

The Smithsonian's Cheetah Cub Cam has returned after Zura welcomed five cubs — with four generations of one family now at its conservation campus.

Close-up real photograph of a cheetah looking to the side against green foliage
Cheetah at Whipsnade Zoo, photographed in September 2010. Archive species illustration, not Zura, her cubs or the Smithsonian facility. Wikimedia-provided resized thumbnail; no alteration to photograph content. Photo: William Warby · CC BY 2.0

The latest reason to pause your scrolling comes with spots. On 9 October, the Smithsonian announced that its Cheetah Cub Cam was streaming again, following the birth of five cubs to first-time mother Zura on 5 October.

The family lives at the conservation campus in Front Royal, Virginia, rather than in the public zoo in Washington, D.C. The cubs are not on public view, so the den camera gives animal lovers a way to watch from a distance while the family has space together.

There is a lovely family-tree twist. Zura was born at the same facility in 2021; her mother Rosalie and grandmother Sanurra are still there too. With this new litter, the Smithsonian says it now has four generations of the family at the campus. Its keepers describe Zura as an attentive mother and the cubs as active and strong.

It is a welcome moment in the institution's conservation breeding work, and an invitation to enjoy a quieter kind of wildlife viewing. Follow the official source to find the camera and keeper updates. Some of the most absorbing animal moments are the small ones, unfolding at the animals' own pace.

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Independent summaries. Original source dates are shown. Featured charities do not endorse this shop.

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