Where do you start with this one, this is awful, totally inappropriate, leaf fall, lame excuse for a pool, this is temporary right?
@kiang The title is off on purpose. This is the summer home for the African penguins and if the temperature is below 50°F during the days of January and February, the kings will walk from Wings of the world and stay in here for the day.
@kiang - As @Moebelle has said, this is, indeed, temporary - for the king penguins at least. During the warmer months, this is the permanent exhibit for the zoo's colony of African penguins; however, during the winter months, when the African penguins are in holding, the aviculture keepers walk the king penguins over from their permanent exhibit in the bird house to give them the opportunity to spend some time outdoors. That said, the staff is well aware that this exhibit, itself, is rather lackluster to say the least, indeed, having even harsher words for the exhibit themselves, but without a curator, they had some trouble lining up funds for renovations. This is something they really want to tackle in the near future now that a curator has finally been found. Note: I do believe the angle of this photo makes the space at least look a deal smaller than it actually is, and at least half of the substrate is, in fact, loose pebbles, which is not hardly a defense, just a matter of fact.
@Moebelle Don't they have little blue penguins? When I went they had them on the sign, but I never found any. I went around 2013-2014, in the summer, because I definitely do not remember king penguins in an outdoor exhibit.
@d1am0ndback - Yes, they do - one of the largest colonies in the United States. The little blue penguins are in an exhibit that is directly opposite this one. I do believe that during that period, the curator at the time had them set up for breeding during the summer, so that is likely why you missed them. Since his departure, the staff has them set up for breeding in the fall/winter, which has resulted in many more successful hatchings and fewer cases of West Nile. And as @Moebelle has stated, the king penguins are only outdoors on days in January and February that fall below 50 degrees.
@Kudu21 Thanks! Do you know any other zoos/ aquariums in the United States with little blue penguins? I know the Dallas World Aquarium has some because those are the only ones I've physically seen in person. I saw something suggesting at one time the Henry Doorly Zoo had some, but Iv'e gone there annually for the past two years and don't recall seeing any.
