Winnipeg’s zoo is going to temporarily be home to four penguins this spring and summer.
The Assiniboine Park Zoo will host an exhibit called Penguin Cove, which it says will give visitors an up-close experience with the birds.
“This is something completely new for Winnipeg and the Assiniboine Park Zoo, so we’re very excited about it,” Tim Sinclair-Smith, director of zoological operations, said in a news release. “This is going to be a one-of-a-kind experience and another great feature our visitors can enjoy this spring and summer.”
The four young African black-footed penguins will be in a self-contained ecosystem attached to a retrofitted version of the zoo’s old gift shop near the International Polar Bear Conservation Centre.
Interpretive displays will teach visitors about the plight of penguins in the wild and conservation efforts to preserve the birds.
The penguin ecosystem will include rock work, nest boxes, ledges and underwater and aboveground viewing areas.
African penguins, which usually live on the southwest coast of Africa, are about 40 centimetres tall, and the zoo says they’re active and engaging animals.
The zoo hasn’t set a date for the opening of the exhibit, but expects it will be in May.
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