Adorable Penguins at Detroit Zoo Will Make You Swoon

ROYAL OAK, MI — Jenn Ernst knew she had found something special in her viewfinder when she snapped a photo of two king penguins in playful interaction at the Detroit Zoo’s new Polk Penguin Conservation Center. Zoo fans agreed, voting her photo the fan favorite in a recent contest.

Ernst, a 26-year-old amateur photographer from Waterford, said her photo conveys a range of emotions to different people who see it. To her, it’s a “nice interaction” that shows penguins, like humans, form emotional connections.

“It’s a picture of animals caring for each other and grooming each other,” Ernst told Patch. “It was an intimate moment that shows their trust of each other. It shows a bond between them.”

The penguin center, the world’s largest indoor penguin playground, opened in August after months of anticipation. More than 80 of the aquatic birds live in the 33,000-square-foot, $30 million conservation center located on two acres of land near the zoo’s front entrance.

More than 1 million people have visited the exhibit since it opened, zoo spokeswoman Jennie Miller said, adding that it “certainly helped” the zoo reach an all-time attendance record of 1,698,053 visitors in 2016.

Ernst finds the penguins delightful and their new habitat amazing.

“It’s great to see them in different settings — under water, in the snow and porpoising out of the water,” she said. “It’s nice to be able to get up close and personal with them.”

• See Also: World’s Largest Penguin Playground Opens at Detroit Zoo

A zoo member, Ernst regularly visits the facility with her camera. It doesn’t always work out as well as it did with the penguin shot, but on the day she snapped the photo, the aquatic birds were close to the viewing windows.

She offered some tips for other photographers:

• Avoid using a flash when shooting through glass.
• Cool spring and fall days, or after a rain the summer, are best for taking pictures of outdoor exhibits. On hot days, the animals may languish and be less active.
• For indoor exhibits, go during the weekday when there’s less competition for a space at the glass from other zoo visitors.

Before choosing the picture of the penguins for the fan favorite contest, Ernst considered a couple of others, which she shared with Patch.

All photos by Jenn Ernst, used with permission