Cameron Park Zoo Celebrates Penguin Shores Grand Opening

Cameron Park Zoo Celebrates Penguin Shores Grand Opening

Last updated on August 08, 2024 at 12:00 PM

Cameron Park Zoo celebrated the grand opening of the highly anticipated Gloria and F.M. Young Penguin Shores exhibit on Thursday, August 8. The $12.8 million state-of-the-art habitat is now home to the largest colony of endangered South African penguins in Texas.

The City of Waco and Cameron Park Zoo extend a sincere thank you to the Zoological & Botanical Society, McLennan County, and all the individual donors whose generous support made this extraordinary exhibit possible.

Thank you also to everyone who braved the heat for the grand-opening event to welcome our 22 South African penguins to the public. Now, you can see them any time during your visit to Cameron Park Zoo.

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Meet the Penguins

Our colony, affectionally named the Waco Waddlers, consists of 11 pairs of charming penguins.

Standing between twenty-four to twenty-eight inches tall and weighing anywhere from 4.9 to 11 pounds, African black-footed penguins are the sole representatives of their species on the southern tip of South Africa. Adorned with distinctive black stripes and spots on their chests, each penguin sports a unique pattern akin to human fingerprints.

Monogamous by nature, these penguins display remarkable parental dedication. Both male and female take turns incubating their eggs until hatched, and one parent remains vigilant over the chicks for approximately a month before they join other chicks.

About the Exhibit

The new exhibit boasts a pool and rock structure for the penguins, an exhibit area for Smidgen the black-footed cat, canopies, a shaded plaza, and vibrant South African-inspired murals painted throughout. The murals were provided through a special collaboration with Creative Waco's ArtPrenticeship program where high school students and community members painted the murals on the buildings, poles, and gates of Penguin Shores.

These charming creatures are classified as endangered, and without immediate intervention, could go extinct by 2035. Recent reports from the BBC reveal that the wild population of African penguins is dwindling by a staggering 8% annual rate, with a decline of over 99% in the past century. With the help of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums' Saving Animals from Extinction (SAFE) program, Cameron Park Zoo is providing a safe haven for the penguins and hoping to inspire conservation efforts through awareness, solidarity, and education.

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