See Hygiene measures and availability. 

How to find us Contact Blog Search
logo bournemouth oceanarium
logo bournemouth oceanarium
  • Covid Info
  • Explore the Oceanarium
    •  Plan your visit
      Experiences
      Animal Experiences
      Reef Shark Feeding Experience
      Turtle Feeding Experience
      Otter Enrichment Experience
      VIP Penguin Feeding Experience
      Aquarist for the day
      Stingray Feeding Experience
      Meet our playful penguins
      Displays
      Amazon
      Otter Oasis
      Africa & Asia
      Penguin Beach Encounter
      Shark Wreck Reef
      Marine Research Labratory
      Crocodile Rocks
      Abyss
      Global Meltdown
      Key West
      Biggest Characters
      Fun for all the Family
      Take a look Around
      Talk and feeding times
      Cafés and Shop
      OffShore Cafe
      Bay View Terrace
      Cove Gift Shop
      Creatures
      Search
      Green Iguana
      Blacktip Reef Shark
      Common Clownfish
      Red Bellied Piranha
      Regal Tang
      Moon Jellyfish
      Seahorse
      Common Lobster
      African Dwarf Crocodile
      Pig nosed turtle
      Humbolt Penguin
      Inca Tern
      Moray Eel
      Lion Fish
      Southern Stingray
      African Mud Turtle
      Chinese Water Dragon
      Long spined sea urchin
      Chambered Nautilus
      Oriented Small Clawed Otter
      Activities calendar
      Discover our activities
       Oceanarium's Map
  • Conservation & education
    •  Conservation Programs
      Mediterranean Monk Seal
      Punta San Juan Program
      EAZA Southeast Asia Campaign
      Biaza Keepers of Wild Campaign
      Marine Conservation Society
       Education
      School Visits
      Educational visit
      International schools
      College & University
      Group Bookings
       Activities calendar
  • Prepare your visit
    •  Relevant Information
      Faqs
      Contact info
      About Us
       People & Services
      Accessibility
      Covid info
       Birthday Parties
  • Opening Hours and Prices
  • Buy Tickets
    •  Tickets
      General tickets
      Day Ticket
      Memberships
       Membership
       Groups & coaches
       Schools
      Educational visit
      Language schools

What are you looking for?


You can also solve your question in our F.A.Q's section
 
  1. Oceanarium welcomes two ppp-perfect new penguin arrivals
2019-07-11 | 

Oceanarium welcomes two ppp-perfect new penguin arrivals

Oceanarium welcomes two ppp-perfect new penguin arrivals
Share the post

Share


LINK SHARE
Copy link
SOCIAL SHARE

We're celebrating the arrival of two Humboldt penguin chicks that hatched during the Easter period, the perfect Easter gift!

The chicks are the first to be reared here since the colony of birds were welcomed to the Oceanarium in July 2015, as part of the £1.5 million Penguin Beach Encounter expansion project. A further 6 juvenile penguins were introduced in 2016 with the hope that once these birds reached sexual maturity, they would pair up with some of the existing penguins for breeding.

During the 2019 breading season, loved up couple Twiglet and Chile laid two eggs. As first time parents, keepers wanted to ensure the couple were able to juggle the pressures of parenting and considered how other penguin pairs within the group could potentially help with sharing responsibilities. After proving they were naturals when given a dummy egg by Oceanarium penguin keepers, it was clear that same sex couple Zorro and Diego would make perfect parents for fostering the second egg. In an incredible twist, Zorro is Chile’s dad making him a paternal grandparent!

After 40 days, the tiny birds started “pipping” out of their eggs and the chicks hatched just a day apart on the 12th and 13th of April. Weighing just 75g when born, they were fed up to 5 times a day and the Oceanarium is delighted to report that both sets of parents have been caring well for their new arrivals with keepers regularly on hand to check the chicks’ development and assist if required.

Humboldt penguins are native to Chilean and Peruvian coasts and are currently listed as vulnerable on the IUCN red list with the current population of 32,000 decreasing. These birds face numerous threats in the wild such as climate change, pollution, hunting and human intrusion and we support projects that help protect their native habitats.

Oliver Buttling, Group Curator commented “Penguin Beach Encounter was specifically designed to replicate the birds’ natural habitat with a deep pool, beach and rockery encompassing nest boxes. We were always hopeful for our group to breed when they reached maturity and the team are delighted with the two new chicks. The successful breeding demonstrates that the penguins are happy and healthy with the care they receive and it will be amazing when our visitors are able to see them.”

Following their fantastic parental care and development, the chicks had a short period behind-the-scences in a ‘nursery’ display where they learnt to swim and hand feed from the penguin keepers. The pair, at almost 12 weeks old, can now be seen exploring their new surroundings on Penguin Beach Encounter and have taken to swimming wonderfully. They are also currently learning how they fit into the ‘pecking’ order of their colony! Visitors can discover more about new additions during daily penguin feeds and talks at 12pm & 3pm.

We're celebrating the arrival of two Humboldt penguin chicks that hatched during the Easter period, the perfect Easter gift!

OUR STANDARDS

  • BIAZA
  • Marine Conservation Society
  • Punta San Juan Program

Corporate information

  • About Us
  • Jobs
  • Faqs
  • Contact info
  • Survey
  • Blog
  • Site Map
  • Buy Tickets

OTHER ATTRACTIONS IN THE GROUP

  • Blackpool Zoo
  • Nickleodeon Adventure, lakeside
  • Lakes Aquarium
  • Privacy Policy
  • Legal
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms and conditions
  • Employee Privacy Policy