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Penquin Encloseur

Atlantis Marine World’s year-round Penguin Pavilion provides an Atlantis-themed home to African penguins (Spheniscus demersus). The exhibit’s 800-square foot enclosure features representations of the ocean and beach, as well as burrows in the back that the penguins will use for nesting.

 

Visitors can view the penguins both above and below the water, and can even “pop in” through an observation bubble in the beach portion of the exhibit.

 

Native to Namibia and South Africa, African penguins – the first penguin species to be discovered by Europeans – have declined dramatically in the wild over the last century. In the early 1900s, the population stood at 1.5 million penguins; today, just over 179,000 remain.

 

The African penguins exhibited here were captive-bred in South Africa and imported illegally into the US. They arrived at Atlantis Marine World in April 2004, when the US Fish and Wildlife Service contacted the Aquarium about providing the penguins with a new home.

 

 

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Uploaded on August 25, 2009
Taken on May 18, 2008