News and Stories

Penguins, Penguins, Penguins! Here at the Zoo, we celebrate our sea-faring feathered friends every day. We care for and display five species of penguins – little penguin, Magellanic penguin, rockhopper penguin, African penguin and king penguin. You can see them in the Children’s Zoo and the Wings of the World bird house, and even in the summer Wings of Wonder Bird Show.

Penguin Days at the Zoo

Throughout January and February, it’s Penguin Days at the Zoo. In addition to half-price Zoo admission, we invite guests to march with our king penguins during daily Penguin Parades. Waddle with our kings and their keepers from the Wings of the World building to the outdoor exhibit in Children’s Zoo at 11:00am and then back to the building at 2:30pm.

What’s Black and White and Red All Over?

One of our talented penguin artists creating a one-of-a-kind canvas painting for you to take home and enjoy! Offered March through October, our VIPenguin Experience is the perfect gift for your favorite penguin lover. You’ll even get to join our penguin keepers in the Wings of the World bird house to prepare and hand-feed meals to the penguins on exhibit. Register here.

Giving Penguin Chicks a Chance

Funds raised by the VIP Penguin Experience and our Saving Species program help save African penguins through the support of SANCCOB (the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds). SANCCOB is a leading marine non-profit organization which has treated more than 90 000 oiled, ill, injured or abandoned endangered African penguins and other threatened seabirds since being established in 1968.

Every year between October and January, hundreds of small fluffy African penguin chicks are abandoned by their parents when they start their annual moult. During this time, the parents replace their old, worn-out feathers with a brand new set of waterproof feathers and are unable to hunt for fish and feed their young during the three to four week moulting process. As a result, the chicks that have yet to fledge are abandoned and face starvation unless SANCCOB and its conservation partners intervene.

This year, a total of 570 abandoned African penguin chicks have been rescued from the penguin colonies and admitted to SANCCOB’s seabird rehabilitation centres. The chicks spend between 6 to 12 weeks undergoing careful rehabilitation. Once they are at a fledging age, the correct weight, healthy and their feathers are waterproof, they receive the final nod of approval from the veterinary team and get released back into the wild. SANCCOB hopes to successfully rehabilitate and release the last of this year’s chicks in the next three to four weeks.

With less than 2% of the original African penguin population remaining, the hand-rearing of ill and abandoned chicks is a crucial conservation intervention to help bolster the wild population.

Just by coming to the Zoo and participating in our special experiences, you are helping us save penguins across the globe!

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