Cause Of Death Of 7 African Penguins At Florida Aquarium Unknown

TAMPA, FL — Necropsy results done on seven African penguins that died at The Florida Aquarium this week were inconclusive and the veterinary team at the aquarium is conducting more tests to try to determine the cause of the death.

Tim Binder, senior vice president of animal care and health at the aquarium, said in a statement that the facility's penguins are being closely monitored while the deaths are investigated and said the aquarium is "cautiously optimistic" about their health.

"The Florida Aquarium will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to understand this tragic course of events," Binder said. "Unfortunately, we may never know the cause of death."

A colony of African penguins have lived at the Florida Aquarium since 2006. The species has been listed as endangered since 2010. There are less than 25,000 pairs remaining in the wild.

The aquarium currently has no habitat for its Africans penguins that's open to the public. They are brought out twice a day by caretakers so visitors can see them.

African penguins can live up to 30 years in captivity.

The aquarium launched a fundraising campaign to raise $350,000 to build a penguin exhibit in March and hoped to open it in July.

In May, ZooTampa announced that 12 stingrays in its care had died. An investigation showed that a supersaturation event caused the stingrays to contract gas bubble disease.

See related stories:

• Sudden Death Of 12 Stingrays At ZooTampa Remains Mystery
• Stingrays At ZooTampa Died From Fatal Gas Bubble Disease: Probe