Jennie Rundlett
March 27, 2007 02:44 pm
—
Dyan deNapoli doesn't take offense when people don't know her name. Instead, the Georgetown resident proudly responds when she's called "The Penguin Lady." After all, she worked hard for years to earn the title.
She earned the name after giving daily talks at the New England Aquarium for nine years about penguins. People of all ages would swarm around her, hoping to hear the woman they called "The Penguin Lady" speak, she said.
Although she has been interested in marine animals since she was very young, deNapoli never knew penguins would be her calling. She always wanted to work with dolphins but was immediately drawn to penguins after first working with them in 1995.
After graduating from Colby-Sawyer College with an associate's degree in liberal arts, she returned to school in 1992 and attended Mount Ida College to study veterinary technology. In 1995, she began interning at the New England Aquarium in Boston and chose to work in the penguin department. She worked with the sea birds from 1995 to 1996 as an intern and was later hired as an employee in 1997. From that time until just over a year ago, deNapoli was "The Penguin Lady" at the aquarium and researched and educated others about the anything-but-ordinary birds.
"Penguins are engaging and comical," deNapoli said. "People are just drawn to them."
Since graduating, deNapoli has dedicated her life to helping penguins and has even saved thousands of their lives. But after her mother's death over a year ago, deNapoli realized she needed change and left the aquarium to start her own company.
"It was the most difficult decision I've ever made to leave," deNapoli said. "But I needed a break."
So last January, she began an education program appropriately called "The Penguin Lady" to give presentations about penguins to children, adults, and senior citizens. She currently speaks at elementary schools, science centers, libraries, and assisted living centers to teach people about penguins.
"I wanted to bring my two biggest passions together," deNapoli said, "animals and teaching."
She believes it is important to educate people about penguins in order to empower them to make a difference in helping their population. She educates people of all ages on the sea birds' behavior, biology and conservation. She makes sure to conclude each presentation with naming different organizations people can donate to to help make a difference for the penguin population. A portion of every program's proceeds is also donated to groups working to protect penguins.
Right now, 11 of the 17 penguin species are endangered or threatened because their populations have faced rapid decline due to the interference of mankind. Global warming, oil spills, and overfishing of the penguins' main source of food has jeopardized their survival.
In June 2000, during prime African Penguin breeding time, deNapoli was given an unimaginable opportunity to help save the animals she grew to love over the years.
A ship called the MV Treasure sank off the coast of South Africa, between two islands that were the sites of two of the world's largest colonies of African Penguins. The ship leaked more than 1,300 tons of oil into the water, covering more than 20,000 of the birds -- about 40 percent of the African Penguin population. International help was immediately called for and deNapoli was part of the first American team to arrive in Africa.
During the cleanup deNapoli supervised the rehabilitation for the penguins. She worked long days force-feeding the penguins to keep them alive. She was also in charge of a room holding 5,000 of the birds and would wash the oil off them while training other volunteers at the same time.
"It was the hardest, most grueling thing I've ever done," deNapoli said. "But it was also the most rewarding."
Thousands of people from all over the world responded to the oil spill and after three and a half months, they saved 91 percent of the penguins that were affected by the spill. That, deNapoli said, is an amazing success rate.
"I was always concerned about endangered species, but I never imagined I could do something so tangible and so incredible," deNapoli said. "The fact that thousands of people from all over the world could come together in a global community to help these birds is so touching. It restores faith in human kind."
Now, de Napoli is writing a book on penguins and her South African experience. She also plans to write a children's book about saving the penguins with a more inspiring tone and pictures. Writing a book on her experiences is something she has always wanted to do, she said.
"That event marked the largest number of birds to be rescued," deNapoli said. "It got world-wide media attention at the time but nothing has been published on it." She hopes the book will be out in stores by fall 2008.
"The Penguin Lady" has also taken her passion to many other parts of the world. In recent years she has traveled to New Zealand, Australia and Chile to bring knowledge of all different types of penguins back to New England with her. But extended knowledge is not the only thing deNapoli came back with.
In May 1998, deNapoli traveled to Australia and returned with a type of penguin named "The Little Blues". The baby birds brought to the United States were offspring of penguins that had permanent injuries like blindness or missing limbs that kept them from surviving in the wild. This began the colony of The Little Blues at the New England Aquarium.
Now, deNapoli will continue traveling around New England to educate others on the extraordinary characteristics of penguins and how the population can be helped. Penguins are an indicator species, she said, meaning their population and health indicate the health of the environment they are living in. She believes educating people is very important and hopes to reach as many people as possible with her program.
Dyan deNapoli's program is on line at www.thepenguinlady.com. To book an educational session she can be reached via email at dyan@thepenguinlady.com.
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.