Gamar Pingu

Enjoying life mostly in the ocean as adults, the Gamar pingu tends to get back to land for a prolonged period only once a year to breed and raise their chick to the juvenile stage. After their first individual swimming lessons - succeeding the infamous Cliff Flopping - these younglings will start to get the hang of diving and follow in the footsteps of their parents to grow into their nickname: kings of the depth.

While most pingus will forage and hunt for their meal around the 10 to 40 meter depth, the Gamar pingu have chosen a deeper approach reaching an average forage depth of 300 meter. However, records have shown some of these birds to go even further!

— Bahrid Exporers Guide

Simple, Yet Effective

The Gamar pingus rock a fairly simple tuxedo. Their bellies are a shade of white - ranging from ivory to cream, sometimes with a few dark spots here and there - and their backs typically consist of a deep grey, green, or blue. Like the majority of their peers, these colours provide them with the best camouflage in the water. Their front merges with the water surface in the background and their backs merges with the dark of the oceans depth, making them harder to spot for a school of fish and krill.

However, some pingus like to give their coat a little bit of extra flair. Some use colours to add that extra touch more permanently, where others have been gifted with a specific pattern for their coat. Parents pass down these patterns and colours, both the primary and additional ones, to their young. In some cases, a chick will inherit both traits, in some only a single one comes out on top based on gene dominance. A few cases show one trait in the juvenile coat which switches for the other parents flair when they moult into their mature coat.

We're still performing major research with a few biology institutions at Marka'lulum to determine which genes specifically impact the patterns and colours of a pingu. One thing is certain, there are clearly a few dominant and recessive patterns that require a very specific combination of genes and an even more specific ratio. Sure, we don't really care what other pingus look like, but we sure as hell are curious as are they!

— Interview with the head researcher of Genetics at Marka'lulum for Bahrid Magazine

Colourfully Patterned Coats

While scientists are still trying to figure out which and how genes exactly impact what a pingus tuxedo will look like, it's worth exploring what the pingus of Bahrid already do know about the composition of their coats. The patterns most are talking about refer to the coloured additions to a pingus tuxedo. However, the edge between the darker back and the light belly can also differ. The rarity of the combinations also lead to many superstitions among all pingus.

In general, there are three types of edges, but the chance of a Gamar pingu having an unconventional edge is fairly slim. Most tuxedoes feature the straight edge and sometimes the wave edge. Seeing a pingu with a zigzag edge is very rare, leading them to believe that juveniles with this coat will have a great and rich future ahead of them - adults still carrying this edge are looked to for leadership and advice.
The coloured patterns occur more frequently. In most cases, the bubbles, sparks, markings and monocoloured band will consist of a single colour and doesn't change much aside from intensity and sometimes saturation based on the pingus diet. Some pingus are blessed with a more colourful palette and often carry the multicoloured band or even the rainbow crossover pattern. The main difference between the two is the addition of gradient in the rainbow crossover. The multicoloured band consists of multiple colours, but with a clear border between them.
Most of the time, there's a combination going on with the straight edge and one of the coloured patterns. However, getting a composite of the wave edge with one of the patterns already gets more rare, especially when it comes to the multicoloured variants. Especially the rainbow crossover with the wave edge is a unique sight reserved for a few lucky chicks that happened to have the right set of parents with the correct genes.
There is still a decent chance that not all coats have been seen. Rumours go around that the tuxedoes can change based on very specific factors, such as diet or - often worse - trauma. Usually, that doesn't hinder a pingus image in society, but there are a few documented cases where superstition got in the way and turned the victim into an outcast. A few of these cases still linger on as society evolves and different subspecies come together in the larger nesting areas and villages.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Pingu

Average Height

Male: 1.35m / 4ft 5in
Female: 1.30m / 4ft 3in
Flipper Length
Male: ~34.6cm / 13.5in
Female: ~33.3cm / 13.1in
Ratio: 3.9

Average Weight

Male: 35kg / 77lbs
Female: 30kg / 66lbs
Top Speed
Swimming: 25 km/h / 15.5 mph
Waddling: 1.5 km/h / 0.93 mph
Tobogganing: 30 km/h / 18.6 mph
Diving
Foraging
Depth: 25 - 150m / 14 - 82 fathoms
Time: 2 - 15min
Food: Krill, Crusteceans
Depth: 200 - 350m / 110 - 190 fathoms
Time: 15 - 25min
Food: Fish, Cephalopods
Maximum
Depth: 550m / 300 fathoms
Time: 25min
Specialty
Diving

Geographic Distribution

• Bahrid

A tale of Lightning

Once upon a time, my great grandfather, Pedro, went for a hunt in the open ocean with a bunch of his friends. The weather forecast wasn't optimal, but they had hungry chicks at home that could use a good meal. They always kept one pingu near the surface to scan for predators, while the rest went for a dive. This time, Pedro was the one staying closer to the surface. Mind you, he wasn't at the surface, he was still a good 5 meters below.
Before they knew, there was a massive storm brewing above them. Lightning struck the surface with such power - a force they had never witnessed before - right above his body. When the divers returned, they discovered Pedro near unconscious at the surface with burn marks all over him. His tux was changed forever and my dad swore that it was still conductive at times.
I think it's pretty cool, to be honest, but most Gamar pingus see me as cursed for some reason because of that history...