Birdland Welcomes Quartet of King Penguins from Europe

New arrivals settle into Penguin Shore after successful quarantine period

Birdland Park & Gardens has welcomed four new king penguins to its popular Penguin Shore exhibit, taking the Cotswold attraction’s colony back into double figures birds for the first time since 2021.

The quartet, comprising two males from Zurich Zoo in Switzerland and two females from Odense Zoo in Denmark, have now completed almost three weeks in quarantine before being introduced to their new home and fellow residents.

Keepers say the introductions could hardly have gone better.

Within minutes of entering Penguin Shore, the newcomers had confidently begun mixing with the existing colony, were calling to one another and had already taken their first swims in the pool.

The latest arrivals include two-year-old males from Zurich, together with a five-year-old female and a two-year-old female from Odense. Their names will be announced once they have fully settled into the colony.

The additions restore a balanced population of five males and five females, providing an important boost to Birdland’s long-term breeding programme.

The news follows another significant milestone for the colony after Birdland celebrated the laying of its first king penguin egg in more than six years last month.

Head of Living Collections, Alistair Keen, said the new arrivals represented an exciting new chapter for Penguin Shore.

“Introducing new king penguins is always a carefully managed process, so we’re delighted with how confidently they’ve settled into the colony,” he said.

“They’ve been incredibly relaxed from the moment they entered the enclosure, immediately interacting with the other birds, vocalising and exploring both the land and pool areas.

“Taking the colony back to 10 king penguins is an important milestone for us and, with five males and five females, it puts us in a strong position for the future.”

King penguins are the world’s second largest penguin species after emperor penguins and are native to the sub-Antarctic islands of the Southern Ocean.

Although they share many characteristics with their larger cousins, king penguins have one of the longest breeding cycles of any bird, with chicks taking up to 16 months to become fully independent.

The expanded colony forms part of Birdland’s ongoing commitment to the conservation and management of king penguins within the European breeding programme.

Visitors to Penguin Shore can now watch all 10 king penguins together as the newcomers continue to settle into their new surroundings and establish themselves within the colony, alongside their close relatives the Humboldt penguins.

The latest arrivals are expected to play an important role in the future of one of the UK’s best-known king penguin collections, with keepers hopeful they will contribute to the long-term success of the breeding programme in the years ahead.