When I conducted my research at the Lehigh Valley Zoo, sometimes I’d notice a zookeeper hop the fence into the exhibit, coax an African penguin into a carrier, and carry him off, only to come back 30 to 60 minutes later. I went on with my data collection, but I knew that the zookeeper had taken the penguin for the zoo’s animal ambassador program.
Although the zoo’s program helped to educate the zoo’s guests and inspire them to conserve endangered species, I started to wonder what the consequences of removing a penguin several times a week may be for both the individual penguin and the colony. But that was a topic for another project.
Recently, I discovered a 2019 study that asked the same questions regarding a no-contact, no-transport animal ambassador program at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago [1]. The program was intriguing, as it allowed zoo guests to enter part of the penguins’ exhibit, and the penguins could choose to interact with zoo guests [1]. I thought that surely, a program where people encroach on the penguins’ habitat would have negative effects on the colony and individuals.
The researchers looked at behavioral effects of 53 Penguin Encounters over the course of 16 weeks on both the colony as a whole and individual penguins [1]. They found that this novel program did not influence social interactions amongst penguins, as their affiliative and aggressive behaviors did not change [1]. That is, the penguins still hung out with the same partner and picked fights with other penguins at a consistent rate.
The researchers also discovered that male penguins participated in more encounters than females [1]. Moreover, bold individuals were more likely to participate than shy penguins (except Phil, an individual who had a shy personality, yet chose to participate in 43 out of 53 Penguin Encounters) [1]. As a result, the ambassador program had either no effect or a positive effect on the penguin colony [1].
I hope that the Lehigh Valley Zoo might switch to a program like this in the future. I am also proud to announce that my successor, Lois, will be investigating the impact of our zoo’s current ambassador program on the African penguin colony.
References:
- Saiyed ST, Hopper LM, Cronin KA. 2019. Evaluating the behavior and temperament of African penguins in a non-contact animal encounter program. Animals. 9(6): 326-340.
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The Penguin Researcher 