Calgary Zoo brings penguins indoors because of frigid temperatures
Posted December 31, 2017 2:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
CALGARY – Their black and white coats are built to withstand the cold, but many of the Calgary Zoo’s penguins have been moved inside because of the bone-chilling weather.
Zoo curator Malu Celli says the king penguins have been brought in from their outdoor enclosure after Calgary’s cold snap dropped temperatures below -25 Celsius.
Celli says the tuxedoed birds would likely be fine if they waddled into the cold, but with chicks still maturing, zookeeper’s prefer to err on the side of caution.
“If I opened the doors they would probably still go out, that’s how they are,” she says. “But just to keep them kind of safe, especially with a chick in the group, I just, we manage them with minus 25 as the cut out to letting them out.”
She says king penguins are accustomed to chilly weather, but they tend to live in milder climates than their Antarctic cousins, emperor penguins.
She says king penguins spend their winters outside at the zoo, but every year, Calgary’s frigid temperatures force them to temporarily return indoors.
“Kind of like, you know, you can bundle up your kid but then there’s a point that you’re going to say ‘OK, I know you’re good but I would rather you stay inside now.'”
Celli says zookeepers have made adjustments for several exhibits on account of the cold, and humans are still welcome to check out the park’s attractions.
