9 Humbolt penguin females have joined the flock. Karina, Penelope, Sophie, Bianca and Reina arrived from Sea World (born 2012). And Lolita, Ophelia, Juanita and Maya came from Woodland Park Zoo.
More trouble for the peguins a 7th bird has died this year. The most recent death the 3rd gentoo penguin, Houdini, died of a fungal respiratory illness. 7 others are showing symptoms. The zoo is calling on help from experts world wide to prevent more deaths.
Interesting news. Apparently the city seriously considered moving the zoo in the wake of the flooding. Its been decided that leaving it where it is and building up berms is the better decision for the zoos overall well being. While floods are a risk the zoo benefits so much from its prime location and the cost of rebuilding the zoo else where would be enormous.
A couple hundred cichlids died today when their tank drained out. Apparently damage from the flood is to blame for a faulty valve and broken warning system. About a hundred fish were saved by keepers when the arrived in the morning.
This is great news for the Calgary Zoo! I always thought that when the elephants leave, they should be replaced by rhinos. The most interesting new species to me are the wild boars which are becoming rare in zoos.
The zoos press release also mentions the additions of a breeding pair of Eurasian Wild Boar, Himilayan Monal, a bachelor group of mandrills in the old African Wild Dog exhibit,
This spring will see the arrival of the komodos and later in the year the rhinos will arrive from Europe meaning they will be among the most genetically valuable animals in the AZA.
An expert has been brought in from Scotland to review the penguin situation. No new animals have died since the last but they are still concerned that others could be at risk. They hope any little tips the specialist can give them will reduce the risk to the other birds. Good move in my opinion. You can always use an outsiders opinion on things when stuff starts to go wrong because they will have a different perspective. Hopefully he will have some good ideas for them.