Penguins to make a splash at Oceanarium next week

Caitlin Marsh 

Monday 13 July 2015

 

 

THE playful colony of penguins coming to Bournemouth will be unveiled to the public on Saturday, July 25, it has been announced.

Residing in their own custom-made Penguin Beach Encounter area, visitors will be able to mingle with the Humboldt penguins in a special interactive walkway and watch them swim and have fun through the viewing windows.

Oliver Buttling, the Oceanarium's curator, says that this particular colony of penguins were bred in captivity in zoos and aquariums across Europe as part of an ongoing breeding programme.

Mr Buttling said: "We are positive that our visitors will fall in love with the penguins as they dip and dive in their brand new beach retreat. "It's a really exciting time for the whole team here and we are learning about the individual characters of the colony. One penguin is a very fussy eater, one has a gangster swagger and there is a loved-up couple."

The penguins were flown to the UK a couple of weeks ago and are now being cared for at the Oceanarium's sister attraction, Blackpool Zoo, before they make their way to Bournemouth.

Humboldt penguins are listed on the IUCN Red List species status as vulnerable and are currently protected due to a decline in population. "As Humboldts are one of the world’s most threatened species of penguin, zoos and aquariums aim to help sustain their populations as part of an international captive breeding programme. We want to help educate our visitors about the issues Humboldt’s are facing in the wild such as habitat destruction, over fishing and more unusually their nests are harvested for their droppings which are used as fertiliser."

The Oceanarium is building its penguin beach with the breeding programme in mind, which includes 12 breeding boxes with the space to house up to 24 penguins. Its expansion project has been in planning for five years and the extension costing £1.5million, which is the biggest addition since 1998.

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