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Penguin exhibit at Chester Zoo

Penguin exhibit at Chester Zoo Penguins have been exhibited at Chester Zoo for more than 20 years and we have found that on the whole they thrive and that many have lived for a number of years. Species exhibited together have been Emperor penguins Aptenodytes forsteri, King penguins A . patagonica, Humholdt’s penguins Spheniscus demersus, Magellan penguins S . magellanicus, and Rockhopper penguins Eudyptes crestatus. They are kept in a large field with a freshwater stream running through it. Certain areas of the field and the edge of the stream have been gravelled as the soil is clay. The water comes from an artesian well and runs through the sealion enclosure and a duck pond before it reaches the penguin pool. Unfortunately the water is not clear because of the clay, but nonetheless our mortality rates are very low. It would seem that plenty of exercise is essential to penguins, and our own colony walks considerable distances round the enclosure. We have found that penguins are great wanderers and the occasional bird that has escaped has travelled considerable distances across country. They are fed on ungutted herrings and they do very well on this diet. When fresh herrings are unavailable, frozen ones are fed. We have lost a number of birds from aspergillosis, but this has usually been introduced by newly arrived birds. The majority of deaths have been caused by wild foxes. As the result we now drive the penguins into a fox-proof enclosure at night, but they are always released during the day. We do not provide the penguins with nest boxes, but there are stone recesses in an earth bank and these are used by the Rockhopper and Magellan penguins for incubating their eggs. T h e King penguins stand outside on the bank and simply incubate their eggs on their feet. A number of King and Humboldt’s penguins have been bred in recent years and many have been raised to maturity. Antarctic penguin exhibit at Duisburg Zoo W. G E W A L T Director, Tierpark Duisburg, Germany An important feature of the Duisburg Zoo is the Polar Wildlife Exhibit, consisting of a large outdoor enclosure for Polar bears Thalarctos maritimus, an enclosure for reindeer Rangifer tarandus, a large pool for three Southern elephant seals Mirounga leonina, a pair of South American sealions Otaria byronia, and a group of South American fur seals Arctocephalus australis, a pool for Harbour seals Phoca vitulina, an enclosure for Steamer ducks Tachyeres, and an outdoor pool inhabited by eight pairs of Black-footed penguins Spheniscus demersus, several Humboldt’s penguins s. humboldti, Magellan penguins S. magellanicus, and King cormorants Phalacracorax albiventer. In addition there is a special exhibit for the more delicate and difficult species of Antarctic penguins. This enclosure, a gift of M r H. Horten, the president of the Duisburg Zoo’s Supervisory Board, is 13 m long and is temperature-controlled. It is divided into two parts: the larger area is for the penguins and the smaller part houses machinery belonging to the air conditioner, water filtration unit, water refrigerators, and the food preparation room. I n addition to the penguins, the public can see the machinery through large glass windows that form the front wall of the whole building. All the floors and inside walls consist of http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png International Zoo Yearbook Wiley

Penguin exhibit at Chester Zoo

MOTTERSHEAD, G. S.
International Zoo Yearbook , Volume 7 (1) – Jan 1, 1967
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Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
Copyright © 1967 Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company
ISSN
0074-9664
eISSN
1748-1090
DOI
10.1111/j.1748-1090.1967.tb00298.x
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Penguins have been exhibited at Chester Zoo for more than 20 years and we have found that on the whole they thrive and that many have lived for a number of years. Species exhibited together have been Emperor penguins Aptenodytes forsteri, King penguins A . patagonica, Humholdt’s penguins Spheniscus demersus, Magellan penguins S . magellanicus, and Rockhopper penguins Eudyptes crestatus. They are kept in a large field with a freshwater stream running through it. Certain areas of the field and the edge of the stream have been gravelled as the soil is clay. The water comes from an artesian well and runs through the sealion enclosure and a duck pond before it reaches the penguin pool. Unfortunately the water is not clear because of the clay, but nonetheless our mortality rates are very low. It would seem that plenty of exercise is essential to penguins, and our own colony walks considerable distances round the enclosure. We have found that penguins are great wanderers and the occasional bird that has escaped has travelled considerable distances across country. They are fed on ungutted herrings and they do very well on this diet. When fresh herrings are unavailable, frozen ones are fed. We have lost a number of birds from aspergillosis, but this has usually been introduced by newly arrived birds. The majority of deaths have been caused by wild foxes. As the result we now drive the penguins into a fox-proof enclosure at night, but they are always released during the day. We do not provide the penguins with nest boxes, but there are stone recesses in an earth bank and these are used by the Rockhopper and Magellan penguins for incubating their eggs. T h e King penguins stand outside on the bank and simply incubate their eggs on their feet. A number of King and Humboldt’s penguins have been bred in recent years and many have been raised to maturity. Antarctic penguin exhibit at Duisburg Zoo W. G E W A L T Director, Tierpark Duisburg, Germany An important feature of the Duisburg Zoo is the Polar Wildlife Exhibit, consisting of a large outdoor enclosure for Polar bears Thalarctos maritimus, an enclosure for reindeer Rangifer tarandus, a large pool for three Southern elephant seals Mirounga leonina, a pair of South American sealions Otaria byronia, and a group of South American fur seals Arctocephalus australis, a pool for Harbour seals Phoca vitulina, an enclosure for Steamer ducks Tachyeres, and an outdoor pool inhabited by eight pairs of Black-footed penguins Spheniscus demersus, several Humboldt’s penguins s. humboldti, Magellan penguins S. magellanicus, and King cormorants Phalacracorax albiventer. In addition there is a special exhibit for the more delicate and difficult species of Antarctic penguins. This enclosure, a gift of M r H. Horten, the president of the Duisburg Zoo’s Supervisory Board, is 13 m long and is temperature-controlled. It is divided into two parts: the larger area is for the penguins and the smaller part houses machinery belonging to the air conditioner, water filtration unit, water refrigerators, and the food preparation room. I n addition to the penguins, the public can see the machinery through large glass windows that form the front wall of the whole building. All the floors and inside walls consist of

Journal

International Zoo Yearbook – Wiley

Published: Jan 1, 1967

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