Photo taken from Facebook.

A penguin is definitely an unlikely candidate for military success, but a king penguin by the name of Sir Nils Olav III has just been promoted to Brigadier in the Royal Norwegian Guard, reports ABC news.

The Edinburgh Zoo's resident penguin was awarded the prestigious title during a special ceremony at the zoo with 50 of Norway's guardsmen in attendance.

Sir Olav III marched down the line of soldiers standing at attention before he was presented with an insignia on his wing and saluted by an officer.

His march was a fairly slow one, so he probably will need further ground training, but he eventually completed the task at hand, even if he was a bit distracted, says the report in ABC news.

Edinburgh Zoo has a long history with penguins and Norway, and in 1913 the Norwegian family of Christian Salvesen presented the zoo with its first ever king penguin.

His name is a combination of Major Nils Egelien, who organised the adoption, and the then-King of Norway, King Olav.

During their lives, Sir Olav I, II and III have seen a gradual move up in the ranks, first from Corporal to Sergeant, eventually Colonel-in-Chief and, finally, Knighthood in 2008.

The Edinburgh Zoo says Sir Olav III is regarded very highly among the Norwegian guardsmen and has received these honours due to his "outstanding service and good conduct".



Source: ABC News