Calgary Zoo’s penguins walking trips start Friday

Calgary Zoo’s 11th annual Penguin Walk took off on Friday at 10:30 a.m., and will last until mid-March, depending on the weather conditions.

The king penguins now have an opportunity to experience wildlife, as the species would normally walk until they find open water — in the wild.

“It’s a great way for us to get them exercise, try and stimulate them a little more, get them something new to do. It’s kind of a great seasonal enrichment for them to get them out, get them moving … get them motivated,” said Patrick Thompson, animal care manager for Canadian Wilds and Penguins at the Calgary Zoo.

“They look really cute, they look kind of funny.”

Fourteen king penguins are expected to participate in the daily march, including Diana, Grace, Arthur, Solomon, Cleopatra, Josephine, Louis, Phillipe, Henri, Napoleon, George, Boudicca, and Rupert, and the zoo’s baby penguin.

Penguins walk on the Calgary Zoo grounds in Calgary on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2022. Calgary Zoo’s penguins commence the 11th annual Penguin walk on Friday, (Logan Stein, CityNews photo)

Thompson says the un-named penguin chick is already ahead of the game.

“Sometimes they take a little bit more time than the adults, just because … it’s brand new to them,” Thompson said. “So this chick has just started coming outside exploring the outside yard … It is kind of a brand new thing for it.”

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Meanwhile, non of the participating penguins will be forced to march the long distance.

“The Penguin Walk is dependent on the birds’ desire to walk as well as the weather,” said the zoo in a statement.

“But luckily for royal onlookers, the colony loves to walk and usually chooses to!”

The penguins will do the 15-minute walk starting at Penguin Plunge, heading to the Discovery Trail Bridge, and then back to their habitat every day until the end of the annual walk.

“If the temperature warms up to 5 C, drops to or below -25 C, or the winds are too excessive, the walk will be cancelled — if the walk needs to be cancelled.”

-With files from Logan Stein