A lady penguin at the Lehigh Valley Zoo has a new love to celebrate on World Penguin Day.
Don the African penguin, who took a 640-mile journey from Saginaw, Michigan to become a Lehigh Valley Zoo resident, is now officially part of the zoo’s breeding program said Richard Rosevear, Director of Animal Welfare and Conservation, in a recent press release.
The Morning Call first told you about Don last year after the penguins in her colony paired off with other potential mates at the Saginaw Children’s Zoo. That left Don the odd woman out, so she was sent to the Lehigh Valley for an opportunity to become part of a new colony and, perhaps, find a companion.
Happily for Don, that is exactly what happened. The zoo said after a brief period when the other penguins were unsure of the stranger in their midst, Don became an accepted member of the Lehigh Valley Zoo colony. What’s more, she gained a regular companion in Clytee, a male penguin. The two will be encouraged to nest and, hopefully, produce some penguin chicks.
Penguins Thulani and Greer hatched the first two endangered African penguin chicks at Lehigh Valley Zoo in September 2016. The Zoo now has hope that Don and Clytee will be every bit as successful.
African penguins are an endangered species due to loss of habitat and nesting sites, oil spills and decrease in food supply from overfishing. Lehigh Valley Zoo participates in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) African Penguin SSP program which recommends scientifically determined breeding and transfer of the birds in order to maintain a healthy genetic and sustainable population.
