Tuesday, March 23, 2021
Penguin Move
Fourteen of our Humboldt penguins have made a move across the water to Exploris Aquarium in Northern Ireland. The move was part of the European breeding programme for endangered species.
The 14 penguins were all born in the last 2 breeding seasons, 4 in 2019 and a further 10 in 2020. With our penguin pool looking pretty busy and the hope of another successful breeding season approaching, plans were made to rehome the last two years' chicks.
The Wildlife Park team is so pleased the move is complete as disruption by Covid-19 regulations and extra paperwork due to Brexit has made the move quite challenging! With no current direct route to Belfast, the penguins did an all-round trip of the UK, leaving the Isle of Man to Heysham before being driven up to Scotland, and then on to their 2nd ferry crossing to Belfast.
Exploris Aquariam have been sending us photos and updates and we're extremely happy to see the penguins settling in!
Humboldt penguins are social animals and in the wild live in relatively large colonies along the coast of Chile and Peru. They get their name from the cold sea current that runs along the west coast of South America from Chile to Peru – and that was named after the explorer Alexander von Humboldt. These penguins make their home on sandy beaches and rocky coastlines and generally live for between 20 and 25 years. The Humboldt penguin is at risk of becoming extinct.