Linus Torvalds was once bitten by a penguin, so that's another cause why he has some kind of special relationship to penguins. ;)
"Some people have told me they don't think a fat penguin really embodies the grace of Linux, which just tells me they have never seen an angry penguin charging at them in excess of 100mph. They'd be a lot more careful about what they say if they had." - Linus Torvalds