Penguin Cove Opens Saturday At Zoo

Guest experiences near the Louisville Zoo’s Islands exhibit area will greatly be enhanced, starting Saturday, May 14, with a new penguin exhibit and the introduction of a new species of penguins – “Little” Penguins. Penguin Cove will give guests the opportunity to observe the penguins’ social, natural behaviors in an outdoor exhibit area.

Little Penguins are the smallest of all penguins. This species stands about a foot tall and weighs around two pounds. It lives in colonies along the southern coast of Australia, around the nearby island of Tasmania, and the entire coastline of New Zealand.

This bird hunts during the day and can dive up to 200 feet in pursuit of fish and invertebrate animals to feed upon.

Birdlife International estimates the wild population at just fewer than one million. Although numerous, the species is on the decline as a result of oil pollution, predation by non-native wildlife and drowning in fish nets.

Louisville Zoo is participating in an AZA Species Survival Program project to conserve the Little Penguin in partnership with the Taronga Zoo, Sydney, the Zoo and Aquarium association of Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific region, and the Government of Australia.