BALTIMORE — They're vocal. They're about two feet tall. And they're unpredictable.
When you flock to the Maryland Zoo, the more than 100 African penguins are right in the center of the map. Their habitat is built to look like home—an abandoned fishing village in southern Africa.
There could be millions of African penguins in the world right now, but because of things like overfishing and oil spills, there's only about 18,000 pairs of them. In the wild, they're in grave danger; there's a chance they could be extinct in about ten years.
Thanks to the work being spearheaded right here in Baltimore, help is on the way.
"Their numbers have really plummeted, and they need all the help that they get from us to ensure that they survive," said Margaret Innes, general curator of the Maryland Zoo. Innes is involved in the zoo's day-to-day operations and in long-term planning and conservation.
Jen Kottyan, the zoo's bird curator, will coordinate not just the penguins' breeding at our zoo but at zoos around the country within the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) to help rehabilitate the birds' populations.
"We do have the largest colony of the species in North America," Innes added, "so it feels really fitting that we are now leading this program as well."
It's been about ten years since the zoo's 'Penguin Coast' opened up, and it's become one of the zoo's signature attractions. Soon, ads will pop up around town featuring the penguins.
"One of the things we know as animal caretakers here at the zoo is everybody loves penguins. So it's really enjoyable for us to see when people arrive and see the centerpiece of the zoo, where all of these people are out and about."
Tickets at the zoo go toward caring for animals there, and a portion of the proceeds go toward conserving endangered species like the African penguin.
