'Sir' Nils Olav - The Knighted Penguin

He waddled out of his enclosure as just Nils Olav, an honorary Colonel-in-Chief, but waddled back as 'Sir' Nils Olav, earning the highest honor ever awarded to .............A Penguin!

Even prior to this great honor, Nils Olav, a 3-ft tall king penguin, who lives in the Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland has had a distinguished career with the Norwegian Armed Forces. He has received medals for good behavior and long service and is the honorary Colonel-in-Chief of the elite Norwegian King's Guard. And now the ultimate honor - receiving a Knighthood!

Just to clarify, this is the third penguin name 'Nils Olav' and the achievements outlined above are for all three combined.

It all began in 1972, when members of the Norwegian King's Guard, who frequently visited the Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland, decided to pick a king penguin as a mascot. Named Nils Olav, after the lieutenant in charge then - Nils Egelien, and the ruler of Norway at that time - King Olav the Fifth, he quickly became a favorite among the visiting soldiers.

When he died, he was replaced by another king penguin who took over his rank and name. However, this third Nils Olav seems to be getting all the promotions. In 2005, he was promoted from Sergeant Major to Colonel-in-Chief, and now this.

The Knighthood ceremony began on Friday morning amidst much hoopla. The officials made their speeches and the fans gathered around in anticipation. Finally, the big moment arrived. Nils Olav, escorted by members of the Army, waddled over to inspect the line of troops standing attentively just outside his home- the penguin enclosure. Every now and again, he would stop to look at them closer, before being nudged gently.

British Major General, Euan Loudon performed the 'Knighthood' ceremony by dropping the King's sword on both sides of Nils Olav's body and then exchanging his Colonel badge, tied to his flipper, for a Knighthood badge.

Duly Knighted, Sir Nils Olav waddled back to his penguin enclosure to feed on some fish and continue with his normal life, without all the distractions. The Zoo officials are very proud of their famous penguin, who has always fulfilled his duties in an exemplary fashion.

Sources: IHT.com, BBCNews.com