#sanccob

I had the pleasure of visiting the National Aviary in Pittsburgh this past weekend. Seeing as I’m not often on the other side of the state (see: never), I applied for their penguin feeding encounter and was lucky enough to wind up as a group of one. It was exciting and delightful to venture outside of my usual scope of bird experience to work with a species so unlike anything we have naturally occurring here in Pennsylvania. Each penguin had such a distinct personality and preferences for feeding. Sunshine (middle photo), Tribby, Marge, and Stan were particularly friendly. Each bird was wonderful and I thoroughly enjoyed interacting with and learning about them. 

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums has a Kickstarter running to help the critically endangered African penguin—we’d love your help! 

Our African penguin colony in Splash Zone is a definite fan-favorite, from the daily feedings, all-day streaming on our Penguin Cam or when they’re taking part in a “March of the Penguins for Science!”

They’re here to inspire people to care more about penguins, and as part of as a Species Survival Plan, a partnership between 50 other members of the Association of Zoos and Aquarium to bring these endangered seabirds back from the brink. 

And now there’s a way for you to help African penguins directly: Kickstarter for the peng-win!

For the next 30 days, you can “Invest in the Nest” to save African penguins from extinction as part of a Kickstarter campaign through AZA that tackles a critical threat: nesting failure.

Historically, African penguins burrowed into the mounds of guano (aka penguin poo) on their nesting islands, creating burrows where they laid their eggs and cared for newly hatched chicks. Why? Because guano burrows provided ideal shelter: from the heat and rain – and from the eyes of hungry predators. The acid in guano suppressed diseases that could kill young birds.

Unfortunately, humans carted away all the guano for use as fertilizer. That left bare, exposed rock as nesting ground for African penguins – and their numbers began to plunge. From one million nesting pairs a century ago, they’re down to just 25,000 pairs today, with no recovery in sight.

The Kickstarter solution? Custom-designed and scientifically tested nest boxes, which will be placed on breeding grounds as a substitute for the missing guano burrows. We and our AZA colleagues intend to raise $150,000 in the next 30 days – enough to buy and deploy 1,500 of the nest boxes in South Africa.

You can make gifts large and small to “Invest in the Nest”. Depending on the size of your gift, you could receive a penguin present—including art created by our own African penguins, and an opportunity to meet (and even feed!) our birds!

The campaign starts May 17 and ends June 16. We hope you’ll join us, and take the plunge for prolific penguin populations!