Two female African penguins have joined Seneca Park Zoo’s public habitat, bringing its colony to 28 birds after weeks of quarantine and introductions to potential mates.
Bay and Coriander moved into the Rochester zoo’s penguin habitat Oct. 8, according to a release from Monroe County and zoo officials. Both were born at the Maryland Zoo in 2019 and arrived at Seneca Park Zoo in mid-August.
The birds spent two weeks in quarantine under zoo protocols before meeting male penguins Tonka and Kaden. After the pairs had time to acclimate, all four moved into the public habitat.
Zoo Director Bob Lee said the additions help address an imbalance in a colony that previously had more males than females. That imbalance can contribute to competition and aggression among males, he said.
Visitors can identify Bay by the black and yellow band on her right wing. Coriander wears a brown band on her right wing.
Zookeeper Brenna De Angelis described Coriander as active and inclined to get into other penguins’ business. Bay is bold and takes fish from other birds, particularly her mate, Tonka, she said.
Zoo members support conservation work
The arrivals come as the zoo continues supporting conservation efforts for African penguins in their natural habitat.
The zoo’s release identifies the species as critically endangered under the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s classification. It reports fewer than 10,000 breeding pairs remaining in the wild, compared with an estimated 141,000 in 1956, and an annual population decline of approximately 9%.
For more than a decade, Seneca Park Zoo and the Seneca Park Zoo Society have supported the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds, known as SANCCOB, through grants funded by donors and members.
This year, a membership fundraising effort resulted in a $5,000 grant for SANCCOB’s chick-bolstering program. The program helps penguin chicks survive and grow until they can be released into their natural habitat, according to the zoo.
Bay, Coriander and the rest of the colony can be seen seven days a week. Visitor and ticket information is available at senecaparkzoo.org.
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