Dudley Zoological Gardens has Successfully Reared More than 150 Humboldt Penguin Chicks
By Jill HitchmanWest Midlands, UK - Rare birds at Dudley Zoological Gardens have flown the nest as part of a worldwide breeding programme. Five young Humboldt penguins have been transferred from the West Midlands tourist attraction to Birdland Park and Gardens, in Bourton-on-the-Water.
The four females and one male, all aged two, will boost the Cotswold attraction's breeding colony by widening its gene pool, as part of international conservation efforts.
It follows the transfer last November of five young Humboldt penguins from DZG to Exmoor Zoological Gardens, which previously had a colony of just six birds.
DZG is home to the largest group of Humboldt penguins in England, with approx 60 birds currently in the colony. Its highly successful breeding programme has been recognised by BIAZA (the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums), winning its award for sustained breeding of a species in captivity.
Pingu, who is 19-years-old, is the oldest penguin in the colony and was the first one to be bred at Dudley. He was hand-reared by keepers and hatched in April 1991. DZG has successfully reared more than 150 chicks since then, with youngsters transferred to the nine different zoological collections, including Twycross, Marwell and Paultons Park.
DZG Curator Matt Lewis said: "We have got one of the best breeding programmes in the country for Humboldt penguins. There are usually about a dozen chicks bred here each year. "We have also supplied hand-rearing notes to other collections to help them care for their chicks."
The Humboldt penguin is native to South America. It is named after the cold water current in which it swims, which was named for explorer Alexander von Humboldt.
Photo: DZG Curator Matt Lewis with a baby Humboldt penguin.
To view Dudley Zoological Gardens' web page on Zoo and Aquarium Visitor, go to: http://www.zandavisitor.com/forumtopicdetail-2354-Dudley_Zoological_Gardens,_West_Midlands,_England
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