World Penguin Day

What’s black, white, and full of surprises? The San Diego Zoo’s African penguins. This vibrant colony has more stories of seduction, love triangles, ruffled feathers, and heartwarming relationships than a soap opera; so we made a web series about them!

Whether you missed it on its first run or are back to love it all over again, all the episodes are ready for your binge-watching pleasure. Their tuxedo-patterned plumage may give these birds a cool, calm, and collected appearance, but the drama within this group is unbelievable!

Click the link to get a look at what our African penguins are doing in real time (daytime footage replays after dark).

You can also enjoy all our past penguin features on the Zoo's YouTube channel.

If you follow the San Diego Zoo on Instagram, watch for our special story, a Q&A with our penguin care specialists on Saturday, April 25. If you don't follow us yet, this would be a good time take the plunge!

• Penguin Search: Do you like looking at penguins? How about looking for penguins? We've hidden 50 penguins in some of the animal facts, stories, and activities on the San Diego Zoo Kids website. Some are adults, some are chicks. Get started here. How many can you find? Check how you did against this answer page.
• Fun Videos: Dive into two made-for-kids videos: Five Pretty Cool Facts about Penguins and Visiting Penguins in Africa.
• Read Up: What sound does an African penguin make? What kind of nest do they use? Find these answers and more by scrolling through this penguin fact sheet on San Diego Zoo Kids.
• Coloring Pages: Penguins are black and white...but maybe not on your coloring page. Or, color the penguins their regular color, and get creative with their surroundings! Click the links to download and print the pages.
• Be a Penguin Biologist: One way that biologists learn about animals is by watching them and recording what they see. They use a chart, called an ethogram, to keep track of their observations. You can do the same thing! Download and print the Ethogram page (or make one of your own), then use it while you watch our birds on Penguin Cam.

Experience a virtual-reality visit to an African beach where we are helping penguins. Immerse yourself in the penguin colony at Boulders Beach in Simon’s Town, South Africa. Filmed with a 360 camera by San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Care Manager Joop Kuhn, you can look around by holding down your mouse button as you move it.

San Diego Zoo Global provides support for African penguin conservation research, and we partner with a South African seabird conservation organization, called SANCCOB, to rescue and rehabilitate ill and injured African penguins and abandoned chicks. You can see it in action by clicking the link.

We've compiled a list of "good reads," so you can have penguin information at your feather tips. Just click the title and enjoy!

• 10 Things You Might Not Know About Penguins: And they're all fascinating!
• African Penguin Primer: Information to get you started pondering penguins.
• The Best Nest: Get the scoop on how African penguins nest, and the challenges they face.
• Pitching In: A first-person account of what it's like to work at a penguin rehabilitation facility.
• Taking A Closer Look: First-person account from a San Diego Zoo Global wildlife health professional about our efforts for African penguins.
• Who's Who: A 2019 piece that introduces the penguins in our colony.
• Penguins' Progress: Find out what it's like "growing up penguin" in this story about two chicks hatched last year.