Major General Sir Nils Olav, Baron of the Bouvet Islands
Posted 25 Aug 2026 in Edinburgh Zoo
Did you know that Edinburgh Zoo is home to a knighted penguin? Meet the world's highest-ranking animal, Major General Sir Nils Olav!
When the Norwegian King's Guard visited the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in 1961 for a drill display, Major Nils Egelien fell in love with the zoo's penguin colony, with the regal march of the black and white king penguins reminding him of the Norwegian King’s Guard on parade. When they returned to Edinburgh in 1972 Egelien arranged for the regiment to adopt a king penguin as their military mascot.
Sir Nils Olav is named after Major Nils Egelien and Olav Sigerud, contingent commander of the Norwegian King’s Guard at the time.
The very model of a modern Major General
After being made the mascot for the Norwegian King’s Guard Sir Nils quickly moved up the ranks:
1982 - Corporal
1987 - Sergeant
1993 - Regimental Sergeant Major
2001 - Honourable Regimental Sergeant Major
2005 - Colonel-in-Chief
2008 - Knighthood
2016 - Brigadier
2023 - Major General
In 2023 Sir Nils also received an updated Guinness World Records title honouring him as the world’s highest-ranking penguin. At the time, Craig Glenday, Editor in Chief at Guinness World Records, said, “I’ve been lucky enough to encounter a number of Knights in my time at Guinness World Records – Sir Richard Branson, Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Sir Christopher Lee, to name just three – but only one could swim to a depth of 50 metres at eight miles an hour with a mouthful of fish."
Sir Nils is highly regarded among the Norwegian King’s Guardsmen and has received his honours and medals due to outstanding service and good conduct! The Guardsmen like to visit Nils every few years while they are in the city performing at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. They last visited in August 2023.
Some other facts you might not know about Major General Sir Nils Olav:
- Sir Nils’ full title in the Norwegian King’s Guard is Major General Sir Nils Olav, Baron of the Bouvet Islands (Generalmajor Sir Nils Olav, Baron av Bouvetøyene)
- Major General is the third highest rank in the Norwegian Army
- Sir Nils lives with the rest of our colony in Penguins Rock, the largest outdoor penguin pool in Europe
- In 2005, the Zoo was presented with a 4ft tall bronze statue of Sir Nils which takes pride of place outside Penguins Rock. A statue also stands at the King's Guard compound at Huseby Leir, Oslo
- Edinburgh Zoo has a long history with both king penguins and Norway. The Norwegian family of Christian Salvesen presented the Zoo with its first-ever king penguin in 1913
- When Nils was knighted it was such an important promotion it had to be approved by King Harald V of Norway!
