ROYAL OAK, Mich., August 9, 2007 – The Detroit Zoo’s Penguinarium has been overrun with “happy feet” since the hatching of five macaroni penguin chicks between mid and late May.  The two males and three females are being hand-reared by zookeepers off-exhibit but are viewable to the public on a television monitor through a camera that records them in their temporary habitat.  The hatchlings will join the Zoo’s penguin colony in mid to late August after they have “fledged” or grown their juvenile feathers for swimming. 

The hatching of the five chicks is significant for the Detroit Zoo as well as for the North American population of macaroni penguins, which numbers around 140 individuals.  The females will join the penguin flock at Sea World in San Diego in the fall, and the males will stay at the Detroit Zoo to help balance the predominantly female flock at the Penguinarium.  One male has been named Izzo, and the other male is to be named by the winner of an auction prize at the recent Sunset at the Zoo.

The Detroit Zoo currently has 29 macaroni penguins, including the latest additions, and is one of five institutions in North America that is home to macaronis.  The Penguinarium also houses rockhopper and king penguins, and features a circular pool which allows the birds to swim continuously through the habitat.

The macaroni penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus) is a sub-Antarctic species found on islands surrounding Antarctica.  Also referred to as a “crested penguin,” the macaroni gets its name from the bright yellow crest feathers that adorn its head.  These plumes reminded early English explorers of an 18th century man called a “macaroni” who wore flashy feathers in his hat. 

The Detroit Zoological Society is a non-profit organization that operates the Detroit Zoo and Belle Isle Nature Zoo.  Situated on 125 acres of naturalistic exhibits, the Detroit Zoo is located at the intersection of Ten Mile Road and Woodward Avenue, just off I-696, in Royal Oak.  The Detroit Zoo is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April through October – with extended hours until 8 p.m. Wednesdays during July and August – and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November through March.  Admission is $11.00 for adults 13 to 61, $9.00 for senior citizens 62 and older, and $7.00 for children ages 2 to 12; children under 2 are free.  For more information, call (248) 541-5717 or visit www.detroitzoo.org.  The Belle Isle Nature Zoo is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April through October and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November through March, and provides educational programming with interpretive staff support from the Huron-Clinton Metroparks.  For more information, call (313) 852-4056. 
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