Penguin Knight

Nils Olav, a King Penguin at the Edinburgh Scotland zoo, has been knighted by the Norway. Norway gave the Edinburgh Zoo it's first King Penguins when the zoo opened in 1912 and since 1972, a King Penguin named Nils Olav has been the mascot of the Norwegian King's Guard. You can see a video of the current Nils Olav (the original died in 1980's) inspecting the troops here. Nils has risen through the ranks since being adopted as a lance corporal by the King's Guard after a lieutenant named Nils Egelien became interested in the zoo's penguin colony in 1962. According to the Wikipedia entry for Nils, he is the fist (and I would venture to guess, the only) penguin to hold this rank in the Norwegian Army. He even has a statue located at the guard's headquarters in Oslo.