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Fort Wayne Penguins Aid in
Hurricane Katrina Recovery

It’s been almost three years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, but little things still mean a lot to the residents of New Orleans.  And two black-footed penguins from the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo just made Tom Dyer’s day.  “I am head over heels in love,” said the Senior Aviculturist at the Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans upon meeting the Fort Wayne birds.  “We are so incredibly thankful for this.”
 
The two Fort Wayne penguins traveled to New Orleans in March to help revitalize the Aquarium of the Americas.  In the aftermath of the 2005 hurricane, the aquarium lost nearly 10,000 fish and evacuated surviving animals to zoos around the country.  The penguin flock went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California while the Aquarium of the Americas remained closed for an entire year.
 
“I used to think that the penguins were mine, but after the storm, I realized they belonged to the whole city,” Dyer said.  “People followed their every move when they were evacuated to Monterey, and [some] actually made trips to see them out there.”
 
The Fort Wayne penguins have interesting stories of their own.  Teal Black, a male, came to Fort Wayne from the Baltimore Zoo as an egg in April 2001.  (Penguins in Fort Wayne are named for the color of their identifying wing bands.)  When Teal Black hatched a few days after arriving, two members of the Fort Wayne flock took him in and fostered him.  Tank, a female, hatched in Fort Wayne in August 2006.  With her sweet personality, Tank soon became a crew favorite.  Five other penguin chicks have hatched at the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo in the past year.
 
Black-footed penguins are native to South Africa, where they inhabit the wild, rocky coastline.  The population of wild black-footed penguins has plummeted from about 1.5 million birds in 1910 to about 150,000 birds today.  As a result, the wild population is considered vulnerable.  In zoos, black-footed penguins are part of the Species Survival Plan (SSP), a program which manages captive populations of endangered animals through cooperative breeding.
 
To signify the penguins’ fresh start in a new home, Dyer and his staff have christened the penguins with new names.  Teal Black now answers to “Nelson,” and Tank has been renamed “Millicent.”  “She just looks like a Millicent,” said Dyer. 
 
Keepers in New Orleans hope that Millicent and Nelson will mate and reproduce in their new home, where most of the penguins are over 20 years old – too old for breeding.  “This chance to have babies is unbelievable,” said Dyer.  “We are so grateful to everyone in Fort Wayne.”
 
The Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo is one of the area’s major attractions and was named one of the country’s “Ten Best Zoos for Kids” by Child magazine. 
 The zoo is open every day from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. from April 19 until October 12.  Admission is $9.50 for adults, $6.50 for children age 2-14 and $8.50 for seniors over age 60.  Babies age 1 and under and Zoo Society Members are admitted free.

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