Grand Rapids zoo to celebrate Penguin Awareness Day

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — In honor of Penguin Awareness Working day, Grand Rapids’ John Ball Zoo is celebrating its successful penguin breeding plan.

The zoo grew to become a person of the initial zoos in the U.S. to care for Magellanic penguins again in the 1980s, which are commonly discovered on southern South American shorelines, including Argentina, Chile, coastal Patagonia and the Falkland Islands.

Now, John Ball Zoo has “one of the most effective zoo breeding systems for this species,” the zoo stated in a prepared launch.

In celebration of Penguin Awareness Day on Friday, Jan. 20, the zoo is highlighting its 24 penguins, who array in age from 4-yr-previous Chester to Agnes, the zoo’s oldest penguin at 32 years aged.

A wild Magellanic penguin’s typical lifespan is about eight to 10 years, but it is not uncommon for a penguin cared for in captivity to are living into their 20s or 30s.

“At John Ball Zoo, we are happy of the specialist treatment and deep expertise of Magellanic penguins, encouraging to be certain that this species continues to endure and prosper for upcoming generations,” explained Nick Milbratz, education coordinator at the Grand Rapids zoo. “As just one of the very first zoos to care for Magellanic penguins, we just take our duty really seriously to provide the finest high quality treatment for these loveable seabirds.”

While the zoo is closed to the public for the duration of the winter, the general public can even now interact with the penguins and a pick out range of other zoo animals in “behind the scenes” ordeals. For a rate, men and women can feed the penguins with a zookeeper, discovering what zookeepers do to treatment for the penguins in their habitat.

In a individual at the rear of-the-scenes encounter known as “penguin encounter” zoo visitors can meet up with up to two penguins in a personalized area and study about the zoo’s penguin flock and the treatment they receive. There is no bodily speak to with the penguins during this expertise.

The penguin feeding knowledge is confined to one individual at a time and participants ought to be at minimum 13 yrs aged. The knowledge expenditures $150 per zoo member and $160 for each non-member.

The penguin come upon is obtainable for up to four individuals and participants should be at minimum 6 many years outdated. The selling price for each team is $300 for zoo users and $350 for non-users.

For the penguins’ safety, neither driving-the-scenes penguin knowledge is readily available through penguin molting or when there are eggs or chicks on show.

John Ball Zoo’s penguin breeding software is guided by the Affiliation of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival System, “to make sure they survive for potential generations, have a diverse genetic pool and that there is a zoo or aquarium that can treatment for offspring when they grow up,” in accordance to the zoo. The zoo also utilizes conservation attempts to guarantee the penguins’ food plan is composed of sustainably caught fish.

Far more from MLive:

Beloved monkey housed at Holland backyard middle dies at 49

What’s becoming designed around Tanger Outlets? The house handles about 100 acres.

Grand Rapids law enforcement make arrests soon after carjacked auto strikes cruiser, suspects flee on foot