Penguin Awareness Day To Spotlight New Births At Busch Gardens

TAMPA, FL -- Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is welcoming some fluffy new additions to the Penguin Point penguin colony, just in time for Penguin Awareness Day.

On Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 19-20, visitors can learn more about African penguins and get a behind-the-scenes introduction to some of the members of the park’s colony during a Penguin Insider Tour. Guests will also receive 10 percent off penguin merchandise.

Three new chicks have joined the colony, hatching on Dec. 28, 30 and Jan. 10. The birds are under the care of adult penguin pairs with frequent check-ups from Busch Gardens’ veterinarians and keepers. Guests can see this care in action when they visit the penguin habitat.

In addition to the three newest arrivals, the group of four hatchlings from the fall are growing fast and thriving during the park’s most successful hatchling season in history. The older chicks can be found swimming and splashing at Penguin Point.

As a special treat for park guests for Penguin Awareness Day, visitors are invited to the Animal Care Center to meet one of these chicks. Visit times will be posted each day at the Animal Care Center, where guests can learn more about caring for penguins, the work of the park’s veterinarians and how to help save and protect these animals in the wild.

Compared to their Antarctic counterparts, the climate at Busch Gardens is perfect for these feathered friends.

African penguins thrive in warmer weather and water temperatures between 40 and 70 degrees,

From the rocky shores of southern Africa, these penguins spend their nights on the beach and their days hunting prey in the wavy waters of the south Atlantic. They have up to 100 feathers per square inch to help protect them from the harsh elements. Pink patches of skin around their eyes help them regulate their body temperature between the warmer air and cooler water.

In the wild, they can be found swimming at speeds more than 12 mph and diving up to 400 feet to catch their prey: small fish, squid, and crustaceans. Penguins generally live on islands and remote continental regions free from land predators, where their inability to fly is not

To learn more and to reserve a spot on the Penguin Insider Tour, click here.

Images via Busch Gardens

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