The 15 Humboldt penguins that reside at the Milwaukee County Zoo are settling into their new digs.
Among the highlights of the recently completed at $5 million renovation to the penguin habitat, situated just inside the zoo’s main entrance, is the tripling of the size of the pool to 30,000 gallons along with larger viewing windows.
Handrails that had partially blocked the main window have been removed to allow “nose-to-beak” interactions between the penguins and visitors, said Alex Waier, the Zoo’s curator of birds for the past 17 years.
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The project also included a major upgrade in the pool’s water filtration system. A pair of large sand filters have quadrupled the filtration capabilities of the exhibit, he said.
The pool’s water is heated in winter, like it had been in the past, but the renovated exhibit will allow water to be cooled in warmer months. A shade structure has also been constructed.
“These are all nice enhancements for the birds and guests,” said Waier, who spent 20 years as supervisor of aviculture at SeaWorld of Orland before coming to the Milwaukee County Zoo.
During construction, the penguins moved in to the zoo’s flamingo building before returning to their home in December.
American Rescue Plan Act grant funds totaling $3.5 million, as well as $1.5 million from Milwaukee County’s 2023 surplus sales tax proceeds, covered the cost of the project and marked the first major upgrades to the Humboldt penguin habitat since its construction in the 1980s.
Gilbane Building Co. of Milwaukee served as general contractor. Milwaukee-based Concord Group was the project manager.
“They are wary because it’s new,” Waier said of the penguins adapting to their renovated home. “If someone picked you up out of your house, put you in a hotel for nine months and the brought you back to your house and the entire house looked different, what do you think the reaction would be?”
On a bitterly cold but sunny day this week, a pair of penguins swam in the pool while another stood on a rock soaking in the sun’s rays. The rest hunkered down in a heated area out of view from the general public.
“The timing of it wasn’t ideal because it was right as the cold weather was setting in, so they aren’t out exploring this time of year,” Waier said. “They are temperant penguins, so 50 degrees is about their sweet spot. If every day, was 45 to 65 degrees, they would say yes to that. But they are very adaptable, as long as they have places to get out of the wind.”
Heat lamps on the exterior of the exhibit provide warmth for the penguins who decide to venture outside.
“They have the ability to get warm on exhibit, but usually they just go inside, where it’s 60 degrees and they hang out in there,” Waier said. “But they are adaptable. They can come out in this weather and can be fine. They have thick layers of feathers.”
Inside their living area, the penguins gathered mainly in pairs in their kennel-like structure.
Penguins named Penelope and Chubbs took an interest in a small group, which included Waier and a Milwaukee Magazine writer, that gathered around them in their indoor living quarters.
“These guys aren’t pets,” Waier warned. “They would light you up if you try to handle them.”
Although Humboldt penguins, which are native to Peru and Chile, can live up to 30 years in zoos while having a life expectancy of about 20 years in their natural habitat. Jack is the oldest of the Humbolt penguins in the Milwaukee County Zoo colony at nearly 34 years old. Farley will be 30 this spring and Anke and Anchovy are 28.
Waier described Humboldt penguins as a “vulnerable” population. “Their population, like most oceanic populations, are under pressure from oil spills, climate change, over-fishing and introduced predators,” he said.
The Milwaukee County Zoo can handle as many as 23 penguins under the setup, said Waier, who manages the population for 22 facilities in North America. “I make decisions based on genetics to determine who ships birds to where,” he said. “We like them to go through a whole breeding season (at the same facility) so they learn those skills before we’d ship them out.”
Waier said a population biologist at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago maintains records of every Humboldt penguin that’s been hatched. “I can trace the lineage of these birds back five, six, seven generations,” Waier said.
The penguins are certain to be fully comfortable with their upgraded habit as warmer weather arrives and visitors once again flock to the zoo, Waier said. “We’re certainly happy with the way it turned out and we’re hoping we see the results this spring,” he said.
A dock-workers strike delayed work on the project for a few weeks, but for the most part the renovations went smoothly, Waier said. “Like any construction project, there’s always little bumps,” he said.
Because the area was gated off for several months during construction, guests were rerouted to other areas of the zoo for private events, giving visitors a chance to “discover” other exhibits. “Aviary attendance went way up,” Waier said excitedly.
