Penguin Cove Colony Returns!
January 26, 2023
We are thrilled to announce that our Humboldt penguins have returned to Penguin Cove following an Avian Influenza outbreak at the end of last year.
After extensive work to clean and disinfect their enclosure and ensure we meet all legal requirements, all seven penguins have been able to return to their home.
This has only been possible thanks to the excellent planning, quick response, and hard work of our fantastic veterinary and animal teams.
They are still under special care and guests won’t be able to get as close to the pool or access Penguin Cove Playground, but the penguins can be seen from the main path.
Keeping penguins indoors risks infections so returning them to their proper environment is a huge relief to everyone at the zoo.
Dan Garrett, Birds Team Leader, said: “It’s great to see them back in their enclosure where they can swim properly, feed in the water, and have opportunities to seek shelter in their burrows.
“They feel safer in the water so it’s obviously of huge benefit to have them back in their pool.
“Penguins haven’t evolved to stand still, in the wild they spend nine months at sea so they’re used to being on the move all of the time.”
While they settle back into their enclosure guests may notice they are looking a little dishevelled after their indoor stay, but we are confident they will soon be back to their shiny best.
We’ve also been able to reopen our walk-through aviaries so guests can visit their favourite feathered friends again.
We’ll continue to ask guests to help us keep our animals as safe as possible by using foot dips and hand sanitising stations in these areas and adhering to marked walkways.
Guests can now visit our flamingos, Northern bald ibis, village weavers, and swift parrots as well as our other fascinating animals, including giraffes, rhinos, red panda, and Amur tigers.
Our Energy for Life: Tropical House will stay closed a while longer to enable us to complete outstanding maintenance works but we hope to have this open to guests as soon as possible.
To reflect the fact that the majority of our exhibits are now open as usual, we are reverting to our standard winter pricing from 31 January.
Adult admission is £19 and child tickets are £15. All children under the age of three can visit for free.
