Calgary Zoo Penguin Walk wraps up Wednesday
Posted Mar 11, 2023 12:03 pm.
Last Updated Mar 11, 2023 1:38 pm.
The Calgary Zoo says the 2023 Penguin Walk wraps up on Wednesday, as the penguins take their final walk — weather permitting.
This news, announced over Twitter, comes as we are heading into the spring season.
#WaddlerWednesday! ???? With spring (hopefully) on the horizon, the last potential day of the 2023 Penguin Walk will be Wednesday, March 15th (weather permitting). Grab your tickets for this engaging enrichment experience here: https://t.co/0juoJQ1zgq #PenguinWalkYYC #YourZooYYC pic.twitter.com/xBjZJaUK7q
— Calgary Zoo (@calgaryzoo) March 8, 2023
The zoo’s 11th annual Penguin Walk took off on Jan. 13 10:30 a.m., where the penguins walked outside depending on the weather conditions.
The walk offers the king penguins 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 participated 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.
The zoo says the penguins walked as far as they desired while on this march.
“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 march starts with a 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.
The walk would also be cancelled if the temperature warms up to 5 C, drops to or below -25 C, or the winds are too strong.
