penguins - Daily Detroit

Detroit Zoo attendancepenguins Wild Lights

Detroit Zoo Sets All-Time Attendance Record Thanks To Wild Lights, Good Weather And Penguins

For an 11th straight year, the Detroit Zoo’s attendance has surpassed one million guests. In fact, they smashed that number. According to Zoo officials, the Royal Oak-based attraction netted 1,698,053 visitors in 2016, exceeding their projected goal of 1.5 million. The big story this year was the 33,000 square foot Polk Penguin Conservation Center. It’s the largest facility in the world for penguins, and it opened in April. The penguins proved to be popular. More than a million visitors chec...

Detroit Zoogentoo penguins penguins

The Detroit Zoo Gets 20 Adorable New Inhabitants

The Detroit Zoo just scored a seriously adorable belated Christmas gift – 10 male and 10 female Gentoo Penguins. The addition of these plump little bundles of magic bring the Detroit Zoo’s total penguin population to 80. Don’t be fooled by their small stature, though. These 30 inch tall, 20 pound flightless birds can still make serious moves in the water, reaching a max swimming speed of 22 mph. They’ll soon settle into their spectacular new $29.5 million penguin playground, The Polk Pengu...

Detroit zoo penguinsgentoo penguins penguinarium

Detroit Zoo Gets New Penguin Residents

Last month we blogged about Metro Detroit getting some new shark neighbors. This month, it’s three gentoo penguins. Female Philly and males Popeye and Simon, which are each just over a year old, are the first of their species to arrive at the Zoo, joining the flock of king, rockhopper and macaroni penguins at the Penguinarium. More gentoos will arrive in the coming months as completion of the PPCC nears. The long-tailed gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) is recognized by the white stripe exte...

penguins3

Detroit Zoo Sets All-Time Attendance Record Thanks To Wild Lights, Good Weather And Penguins

The Detroit Zoo Gets 20 Adorable New Inhabitants

Detroit Zoo Gets New Penguin Residents