Elderly penguins are retiring in style on their own island at this Boston aquarium

CBC

20-03-2025

The senior African penguins at the New England Aquarium in Boston have received their own island, where they are fed restaurant-grade fish and vitamins, and get pampered with acupuncture and physiotherapy sessions.
This new set-up comes after the senior swimmers had a hard time fighting for their food and space with the younger penguins.
"Animals, especially penguins, can be territorial, especially during nesting seasons or breeding seasons," Kristen McMahon, curator of pinnipeds and penguins for the animal care team at the New England Aquarium, told As It Happens host Nil Köksal.
"Older animals are a bit less engaged with territory behaviour."
Because animals in captivity live much longer than their wild counterparts, aquariums and zoos are coming up with new methods to take care of aging animals, while working toward conservation of endangered species.
Getting grey feathers
The life expectancy of the African penguins ranges between 10 to 15 years in the wild. Some of the New England Aquarium residents are doubling that. The oldest, Good Hope, is 35.
Residents of the island include Harlequin, 32, Durban, 31, Boulder, 34, Isis, 29, Lambert, 32 and Dyer, 14. Good Hope and his partner, St. Croix, 23, will be joining them soon.
McMahon says the penguins have survived so long because of their diet, and the lack of human threat and pollution.
"They have many predators [in the wild] that will pick off animals that are a little older or that move a little slower," MacMahon said.
"We give these animals individualized care, and our top priority is animal welfare."
That kind of personalized care, she says, "is the key to longevity."
With age comes mobility problems, which made it hard for these geriatric penguins to get food on the main island, where younger penguins would push them out of the way during feeding sessions.
To help with mobility issues, vets at the aquarium give the older penguins acupuncture or physical therapy so they can continue swimming along.
"Some of our older birds have spinal issues," Dr. Melissa Joblon, director of animal health, explained to the CBC. "So we'll move their legs and joints and limbs around in different ways … to increase their range of motion."
Joblon said the penguins also have an obstacle course on their island to keep them moving.
An endangered species
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, African penguins are an endangered species. The New England Aquarium aims to combat this by encouraging mating pairs.
"I think a lot of people see some nice pictures and assume those populations are doing well, but they're not," Dolf DeJong, CEO of the Toronto Zoo, told CBC.
The Toronto Zoo is home to more than 20 African penguins, and DeJong says conservation work done by zoos and aquariums can help make a change in African waters.
"One of the key pieces we're doing to start with is getting that information that they are at risk in people's hands," he said.
He said the zoo is in a position where they could send healthy penguin eggs to African countries if they see a decline in the wild population.
DeJong said it wasn't long ago that African penguin populations used to be in the millions, but over the years it has dwindled into roughly 20,000 penguins.
The New England Aquarium and the Toronto Zoo are both putting in efforts to educate people about conservation of endangered species.
The New England Aquarium sent one of their penguin trainers to South Africa last year to help rehabilitate a rescued penguin. They are looking to do the same this year.
DeJong, too, had the opportunity to visit a beach in South Africa and watch a conservation team help the penguins.
"They are out on the beaches making sure that when [these penguins] are on land, they are being protected," DeJong explained. "In the case of abandoned eggs or young chicks, those individuals actually go into the same facility where they can be rehabilitated and released. And you can see in the annual reports the impact and the success of that."
The next steps… or swims
Joblon says even though the island is great, the team is still planning on making some changes.
"The ones that are on this geriatric penguin island can get up on the rock pretty well, but we do plan to make it more accessible," Joblon said.
The aquarium's next step is to put in ramps, and other similar structures so that the penguins can crawl up easily.
Penguin personality
Both Joblon and DeJong say that each penguin brings its own personality to the table.
"They are as diverse as you and I as far as different personalities," DeJong said. "It's humbling and a little bit scary when you think about it"
Joblon said that's certainly on display at the New England Aquarium's geriatric island.
Some, she says, are "very cute and cuddly" and "really like to have their neck scratched or their back scratched."
"It's very cute," she said. "They are quite intelligent and they're very personable."