Humboldt Penguins at Marwell

Penguin Cove is likely to be one of the first stops on your visit!

Lying below a rocky outcrop is a large deep pool with a pebbly beach and stream and it’s here that you’ll find our noisy little Humboldt penguins bobbing up and down in the water; diving and generally having a great time.

Venture into our underground cave and you can see them “fly” through the water with their perfectly adapted, streamlined bodies. If you’re lucky our celebrity penguin – Ralph – might put in an appearance. You may recognise him by his bespoke O’Neill wetsuit – designed to protect him from getting sunburned in summer, or too cold in the winter. Ralph moults his feathers earlier than his fellow pengiuns - which is why he sometimes needs a little extra protection. Find out more in our daily talk and feed!

Seek out the marine objects embedded in the cave walls or head to the play area at the back of the exhibit to meet our tame shark and sealion – great spots for a "selfie"!

If you love our penguins then why not adopt one? Check out our Go Wild children’s adoption scheme but if you’d like a less personal connection than our adult scheme has penguin adoptions too!

Every adoption supports the care of our animals here at the zoo – which means that you could be funding our penguins’ fish!

Even better – for a chance to meet the penguin colony and feed them yourself, book a Face to Face experience with our penguins at the membership cabin for an encounter you will never forget! (Over 12s only)