Animal Experience:
The penguin experience offers an engaging and educational insight into these charismatic birds!
Led by an experienced keeper, you’ll learn about penguin behaviour, adaptations to life in the water, and the conservation challenges they face in the wild.
During the experience, you’ll observe the penguins in their habitat and you’ll discover how they interact, communicate. You may have the opportunity to feed them under keeper guidance. However, this can depend on the penguins themselves—if they choose to participate, or if they are going through natural processes such as moulting.
Important Information
- Group sizes – Max 2
- Time – 12.30pm
- Duration – 30mins
- Seasonal – All year round
- Other – During the summer months, penguins go through an important process called moulting, where they shed and replace all of their feathers. This is a vital part of their life cycle, as fresh, waterproof feathers are essential for insulation and efficient swimming.
While moulting, penguins can look quite different from their usual sleek appearance—often appearing scruffy, patchy, or bedraggled. During this time, they are unable to enter the water, as their old feathers are no longer waterproof and their new plumage is still developing. Instead, they remain on land, conserving energy until the process is complete.
Although they may not look their best, moulting is a completely natural and necessary stage that helps penguins stay healthy and well-adapted to their environment.