SEA LIFE London Aquarium SEA LIFE London Aquarium’s new penguin experience

I really want to see this exhibit in person. But from what I can see I also find it unsuitable. It's a very bland, sterile environment, with 3 walls which stay the same everyday which offer no stimulation at all. The paintings on them are obviously only for visitor appreciation. I'm sure if they were just plain white walls there would be even more of an outcry. Penguins are hardy animals and it's nice to see them outdoors in all weathers. "Penguins in a box" comes to mind with this. However I would like to know what behaviours the person starting the petition has seen to think of the penguins as unhappy, just curious really.
 
ISOE2012 said:
I really want to see this exhibit in person. But from what I can see I also find it unsuitable. It's a very bland, sterile environment, with 3 walls which stay the same everyday which offer no stimulation at all. The paintings on them are obviously only for visitor appreciation. I'm sure if they were just plain white walls there would be even more of an outcry. Penguins are hardy animals and it's nice to see them outdoors in all weathers. "Penguins in a box" comes to mind with this. However I would like to know what behaviours the person starting the petition has seen to think of the penguins as unhappy, just curious really.
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As far as I was aware the more southerly penguin species are kept in enclosures like these due to having very specific temperature requirements in relation to the risk of them overheating. Not that all are kept in these indoor areas... It's more common in the US I think? Don't know about the rest of Europe... I too am intrigued by what makes the penguins look 'clearly unhappy'.
 
AdamD601 said:
As far as I was aware the more southerly penguin species are kept in enclosures like these due to having very specific temperature requirements in relation to the risk of them overheating. Not that all are kept in these indoor areas... It's more common in the US I think? Don't know about the rest of Europe... I too am intrigued by what makes the penguins look 'clearly unhappy'.
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Yeah I have seen a lot of places in the US that have penguins housed indoors, although I think possibly some have access to an outdoor area too. The temperature requirement bit is interesting however other collections such as Birdland manage to house King Penguins all year round. I guess yeah what bothers me the most about these exhibits is the lack of visual stimulation.
 
I visited London Aquarium in May this year . I was not too keen on the enclosure but the penguins looked in excellent condition , were very active and successfully breeding .
 
I doubt if you could successfully keep sub-Antarctic penguin species like Gentoo successfully outdoors in London - certainly not during the summers. Whether County Hall's setup is good enough I can't say because I've not seen it.
 
The Gentoo Penguins are due to return to London soon, ready for the opening of the revamped exhibit "Penguin Point" on 28th May. The penguins have spent the last few months at Edinburgh Zoo.

The new exhibit "will be more spacious to accommodate some newcomers to add to our existing colony of Gentoo penguins later in the year." Hopefully it will be much bigger to house more penguins, it didn't seem that large last year.

https://www2.visitsealife.com/london/discover/sea-life-creatures/penguins/
 
Preview video has been released for Penguin Point. Hard to tell but looks like the water-area of the enclosure has been expanded

https://youtu.be/0YDmM2RbUic
 
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