Penguins are gregarious and best kept in groups, therefore, exhibits should be designed to accommodate a minimum of six birds. This conforms to the 1976 AAZPA resolution (Sladen, 1978) which recommended that penguins be kept in groups of no less than six birds of a single species.
Why do penguins stay in groups?
Penguins Staying in Group Penguins are mostly social animals and they stay in groups for a number of reasons. Staying in groups provides them with safety from predators and helps them to survive the harsh environmental conditions in the Antarctic regions.
King penguins ( Aptenodytes patagonica) tend to travel in groups of 5 to 20 individuals, but their nesting colonies contain thousands of them. While they are in the ocean, all penguins are less sociable than on land, because they focus on catching prey, swimming or doing other individual activities.
Should Penguins be kept in captivity?
Captivity is and will remain a controversial issue. Like wild animals, penguins deserve to live in their natural habitat, although sometimes the human intervention may be necessary. In conclusion, captivity is not necessarily right or not necessarily wrong, but ideally, they should stay in their habitat.
One of the next things we asked ourselves was; why do we keep Penguins in zoos?
On other occasions, researchers keep penguins to study them. Their history in zoos is not very recent, since, although they are not aggressive, they nest in areas of difficult access and they spend a lot of time on the ocean.
The most usefull answer is, enclosures that are small, with small pools, means that penguins cannot display their natural behaviours, which in turn will increase their stress levels. Another facility nearly ten years ago had several Humboldt Penguins die of infections from unknown causes.
How can we encourage Penguins to be more active and active?
A great idea used at RZSS Edinburgh Zoo incorporates floating platforms in the middle of the water as this encourages the penguins to be more active around the enclosure. Penguins are extremely social animals, so it is important that they are housed in social groups to ensure that they are stimulated.
This of course begs the query “What are the social habits of penguins?”
We learned social habits differ according to the species. For example, the Emperor penguins nest and feed together.
Why do penguins live in pairs?
It is a question of cooperation. In a colony, there is not a dominant male, as in other species of animals. Despite living in groups, within each colony penguins remain in pairs, sometimes alone or with their offspring. Penguins are usually monogamous birds, although there are exceptions.
This of course begs the inquiry “Why do Penguins huddle together to keep warm?”
Penguins huddle together to keep warm as a way to shield their bodies from the full force of the cold weather experienced in Antarctica. While huddled, penguins exchange positions so that every colony member takes a turn at forming the outer perimeter, where exposure to the cold is greatest.