African Penguin Webcam

The African penguin webcam will be offline until May 27th as the penguins are moved into their new home.

While awaiting their new home in the Cold Water Quest gallery, presented by Georgia-Pacific, the African penguins are being housed in the Correll Center Animal Care Suite. This area is designed to be able to temporarily house a variety of the Aquarium's small mammals, marine birds, reptiles or fish with a state-of-the-art life support system and HEPA filtered air space.

During this time, you can see the penguins on the Sea Keepers Behind the Scenes Tour and VIP Behind the Scenes Tour.

African black-footed penguins are found on the southernmost coast of Africa.  The climate in this area is higher than that of the Antarctic penguins or those found near the South Pole. Penguins are energized animals that can be caught playing on land or swimming under water.  The African penguin often “porpoises,” plunging in and out of the water, and can travel 4-6 miles per hour and can reach up to 25 miles per hour in short bursts.

Each penguin at the Georgia Aquarium wears a band with beads to differentiate them.  Each bead color corresponds to a number. For example, purple=2 and blue=3. In addition, the bead closest to the chest is blue or pink indicating male or female. Therefore, a penguin wearing a band that is pink-purple-blue means that it is female penguin 23. While this system helps the biologists identify the birds, it also allows guests to tell the male and female penguins apart.

Questions
(click the question to display the answer)

What are the biggest threats to the African penguin?

How do the African penguins stay warm?

What is the natural population of African penguins?

Answer

The biggest threats to the African penguin are oil spills, over fishing of surrounding waters by people and natural competition and predation from seals and straw-necked ibis.

Penguin feathers are stiff and overlap in layers to trap air next to the skin for insulation. The birds waterproof themselves by spreading oil from a gland at the base of the tail, which allows the feathers to be resistant to wind and water. Additionally, there may be up to 300 feathers per square inch on a penguin. A layer of blubber under the skin helps to keep the birds warm as well. If the penguin becomes overheated, blood vessels in the skin fill with blood, bringing heat from within the body to the surface where it is dispersed. Also, bare patches on the face and feet also allow excess heat to escape.

There are approximately 120,000 African penguins left in the ocean, which is down 90 percent in the past 60 years.

Fun Facts

• The African penguin is also known as the “black-footed penguin.”
• When the African penguin vocalizes, the penguin sounds like a donkey. This vocalization is called “braying.”
• Although the African penguin is nearsighted on land, the bird has excellent vision underwater.
• Unlike the hollow bones of flying birds, African penguins have solid bones, which make the bird too heavy to fly.
• There may be up to 300 feathers per square inch on an African penguin.
• African penguins pair-bond and mate for life.

Full Fact Sheet