Get Up Closeand Personal with an African Penguin at the Vancouver Zoo

by Vancouver Aquarium

Nov. 26, 2013

Hope, an African penguin, plays with a ball as part of an indoor enrichment session that also gives guests the opportunity to learn more about this endangered species. Photo credit: Vancouver Aquarium. 
 

Since their debut, penguin walks have been one of the Vancouver Aquarium’s most popular guest experiences, but with winter and the cold, rainy season approaching, the penguins have waddled inside for an indoor enrichment session.

During these enrichment sessions, the African penguins get to experience new sights and sounds, while getting a little exercise. It’s also the perfect opportunity for guests to get up close – really close – and ask questions about these adorable flightless birds, which are also an endangered species.
Indulge your curiosity about African penguins during a penguin enrichment session, occurring twice daily in the Pacific Canada Gallery. For information on when these shows will occur, simply ask an interpretive delivery specialist in the Pacific Canada Gallery.

The African penguins at the Vancouver Aquarium were bred at another aquarium as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan. The number of penguins in southern Africa has dropped 90 per cent since the early 1900s. North American zoos and aquariums, including the Vancouver Aquarium, are helping to save this species through population management, education and ocean sustainability programs. 

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