Birch​ Aquarium Opens Exhibit For World's Smallest Penguins

SAN DIEGO, CA — The world's smallest penguins made their big debut Tuesday at Birch Aquarium in La Jolla.

The Beyster Family Little Blue Penguins Exhibit opened at Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. It is the only exhibit to feature little blue penguins in the western United States.

"We are delighted to introduce the new Beyster Family Little Blue Penguins to San Diego," said Harry Helling, executive director of Birch Aquarium.

"Our team has worked diligently to design, develop and open a new state-of-the-art facility for caring for and breeding this amazing species of seabird. Penguins are great indicators of environmental changes in the ocean and will help Birch Aquarium to better connect understanding to protecting our ocean planet."

The 2,900-square-foot habitat allows visitors to come face-to-face with the seabirds as they "waddle, swim and glide about their new home," according to the aquarium. The exhibit features an 18,000-gallon pool, multiple cozy burrows, a sandy beach and native plants that mimic the coast of Australia and New Zealannd, where the little blue penguins can be found in the wild.

The penguins are about 12 inches tall and weigh 2 to 3 pounds. They are known for their slate-blue plumage.

"We're thrilled to welcome this colony of 15 penguins to our Birch family," said Kayla Strate, lead penguin aquarist of Birch Aquarium. "The birds are happy, thriving and adapting nicely to their new surroundings. Eventually, we're hoping the penguins will form a successful breeding colony."

Elected leaders and representatives from Birch Aquarium celebrated the new exhibit with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday. The exhibit opened to the public Wednesday.

During the event, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria declared Tuesday as "Little Blue Penguins Day" in the city of San Diego.

"San Diego residents, including myself, have enjoyed many memorable moments at Birch Aquarium, and I am certain that there will be many more in store after today's opening," he said. "This extraordinary new space will allow the aquarium to attract even more guests from across the county and beyond, and inspire them to protect the wonders of our ocean."

The exhibit was named in honor of a $1 million gift from the Beyster Family, who are longtime supporters of Birch Aquarium and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

"It may be their waddling or graceful swimming. Whatever the reason, penguins have a knack for capturing our hearts," Jim Beyster said. "We are proud to support Birch Aquarium's mission to shed light on the survival challenges that little blue penguins face in the wild along with other seabird species."

Little blue penguins are part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' (AZA) collaborative international program called Species Survival Plans. Though penguins are common in zoos and aquariums, only a handful of AZA institutions have little blue penguins, including Adventure Aquarium in New Jersey, Bronx Zoo in New York, Cincinnati Zoo in Ohio, Dallas World Aquarium in Texas, and Louisville Zoo in Kentucky.