Penguin Scared of the Water Gets Swimming Lessons

This penguin is so terrified of water she is having swimming lessons http://t.co/eaVvkouLwJ pic.twitter.com/7YvmKYUyGP

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) July 13, 2015

Just jump in, Charlotte. You're a penguin, so you've got to swim. All penguins can and you're old enough to join them.

But Charlotte struggles to overcome her fear of the water. So this king penguin that lives at the Birdland Park & Gardens at Bourton-on-the-Water in Gloucestershire, UK, is getting swimming lessons. Alistair Keen, her zookeeper, is giving the lessons himself. The Telegraph reports that she's doing well:

Mr Keen said: "Initially Charlotte was absolutely terrified at the prospect of getting her feathers wet.

"I know penguins can't fly but she was making a pretty good attempt in her bid to avoid taking the plunge.

"In the wild the chicks only learn to swim by following their parents in to the water so I, as her adopted dad, felt obliged to get in and try to show her how it was done.

"At first it didn't seem like she was ever going to get the hang of it, she certainly hasn't taken to it like a duck to water."