This question originally appeared on Quora.
When I hugged a penguin, it was on my 13th birthday, and it was a dream come true. I had been sort of penguin obsessed as a middle schooler, so I went to SeaWorld to scope out the penguins for my birthday. That day, the staff was running around the enclosure trying to weigh the penguins, and one man was standing out on the public platform searching for a penguin that had evaded him. My mother spoke to him for a short while, and to my utter delight he offered to take us back to meet some of the penguins! The (expensive!) behind the scenes tour normally only allows people to pet the penguins with two fingers, but we got the full experience. We went into the freezing enclosure, and he introduced us to two King penguins (Stephen and Arthur). He said they loved to be squeezed, and so we did! It was highly satisfying. They are solid creatures and very soft to the touch. These were obviously birds that had been raised by humans and so were very comfortable around us.
By John Clover, Penguin Fanatic
Disclaimer: I haven't hugged a penguin.
I did get to go behind the scenes at Sea World, into the penguin enclosure. The penguin handler picked up several penguins, and I got to pet them; this is as close to a hug as I got. Besides that, the penguins surrounded us, dozens of them, huddled around our feet, which we had to sanitize before entering their frigid habitat.
It was completely adorable. Penguins are bonded to their keepers and will only eat food given to them by their keeper, so when their keeper enters the habitat, they swarm him/her. The penguins who have a different keeper go about their business and pretend that nobody is there; it's pretty cute.
Petting a penguin was like petting a soft adorable pillow with cute cartoon eyes.
Hugging a penguin might be too adorable for the average person to survive.
By David Zhou, computational biology graduate student
Very difficult. I tried to hug this little guy, but it kept waddling away! They're not very affectionate creatures. But otherwise, they have really dense and slippery bodies. It's like hugging an oily, feathery bag of sand.
I had this opportunity because a graduate school classmate of mine once volunteered for the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium and brought me and a few friends "backstage." We were walking through a hallway behind some fish tanks when we stumbled upon some personnel with a penguin. The cart behind the penguin was an improvised solution to keep this penguin from waddling away. It was an unexpected treat and definitely the highlight of my day.
By Amy Robinson, Founder, TEDx Global Music Project
I've always wanted to hug a penguin and finally had the chance in Dubai (of course). The ones at the mall had slick, thick feathers. They smell like dead fish. These were very docile ... guess they're trained to let people pet and hug them all day.
The story is better than the actual experience.
By Sean Tizoc Spiers, Global Wanderer
I helped tag some penguin chicks while in Antarctica. They were moody, chattering, smelly ... VERY smelly. Adelie penguin chicks would projectile defecate out of fear as we grabbed them, stuffed them into a bag head first to weigh them, and then tag their wings.
They and their parents were wild, so they were far from cuddly, but I was surprised at their organization as they would group charge the sides of the portable pens we had corralled them into.
There was a particular pair of penguin chicks that actually seemed to give me a very hard time, chattering at me after we had weighed and tagged them. Almost as if they knew I wasn't going to hurt them, so they got all the more aggressive as a result.
Hug them? No, they were wild, and considering the number of penguin chick carcasses around the rookery, rightfully frightened of anything big and aggressive (the skua would feast on any penguin chick that was separated from the group).
More questions on penguins:
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.