Penguin Pool Opens with a Splash

7th July 2009

The boys and girls are back in town – and they love their new home!

Blackpool Zoo’s penguins have now moved into their new digs – a fabulous £400,000 outdoor pool enclosure which will be officially opened on Tuesday, July 21st by the Mayor of Blackpool, Councillor Norman Hardy.

The enclosure includes an elevated viewing platform and underwater windows so visitors can see at close quarters how these intriguing animals swim, play, feed and interact with one another.

A new auditorium style visitor seating area has also been created at the back of the Penguin Pool which will form part of a major renovation of the neighbouring sealion pool, scheduled to start this Autumn.

Penguins have returned to Blackpool Zoo for the first time in more than 12 years and now it is one of only five zoos in Europe to keep the species of ‘warm weather’ penguins, known as Magellanic Penguins.

The penguins, a mixture of breeding age males and females and some juveniles,
arrived in April from Madrid Zoo and Selwo Wildlife Park in Spain, which are both part of the Parques Reunidos group.

Darren Webster, Blackpool Zoo’s Director, said: “We are delighted to announce the opening of the new Penguin Pool. It is wonderful to see the penguins enjoying their new surroundings!

“Penguins have been one of the most requested animals by visitors and friends of the zoo and we are delighted to bring them back after such popular demand.

“Alongside the new Penguin Pool, we are planning a major renovation of the sealion enclosure which should be completed by early next year.”

Magellanic Penguins Facts:

• Magellanic Penguins are named after the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan who first saw them in 1519.
• Magellanic penguins are a larger species of penguin standing at about 27inches tall, and weighing about 9lbs. They eat squid and small fish, nesting in burrows and usually laying two eggs.
• As ‘warm weather’ penguins, they lose the feathers under their chins when the temperature rises. They grow back when it gets cooler.
• In the wild, Megellanic penguins are usually found in coastal areas of South America.

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